The Nightmares Saga
by Tima
Summary: ...set right after the Hunter's Moon Saga...As Elisa tries to forget about her ordeal caused by the Hunters, her nightmares persist. Unfortunately for her, her nightmare is only beginning...Please R&R...tell me what you think!
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer:_

_I do not own Gargoyles, or any of the characters which appeared in the cartoon. All original characters seen here were created by me, but everyone else is not. Please don't sue._

_**The Nightmares Saga: Chapter 1—The Calm Before the Storm**_

_A few weeks after the Hunter's moon..._

The sun began to creep lower into the horizon as the red and white Ford Fairlane pulled up in front of the Eyerie Building. Elisa Maza parked in her regular spot and turned off the car. Still sitting in the driver's seat, she leaned over the passenger's seat to get a brief look at the building. She sharply inhaled, knowing that the sun had just set, and within a few minutes, she would be with him. She readjusted herself in her seat, and flipped the visor down to get a quick look at herself in the small mirror that was attached to it. It wasn't that she was in the habit of looking at herself in the mirror: there were more important things to life than how you looked, but lately, after finally confronting Goliath about their feelings for one another, it was only fitting that she should at least make sure she didn't have a ketchup stain on her mouth from that hotdog she had a few hours ago. She never cared before how she looked, but now there was a good reason to pay attention to that sort of detail, and he was nearly 7 feet tall with lavender-coloured skin. She smoothed her hair out, looked herself over in the mirror, and stepped out of the car.

As Elisa locked the door to her car, she looked up at the building from the street below. She never thought she would ever look at this building with happiness or excitement again, since it was owned by David Xanatos, someone whose

motives she didn't trust and whose words she didn't believe. However, after the night of the Hunter's Moon, when he helped the gargoyles escape from a police helicopter, the building had once again become their home. Xanatos had made it clear that night that he wanted their long-standing feud to be over. Naturally, Elisa had reservations about his

intentions, but told herself she would wait until he gave her even the slightest reason to doubt him before talking to Goliath about her doubts. She knew Goliath would listen to her, since she had been right in the past about Xanatos. Now, the gargoyles were

back in their ancestral home, and they were content. That's the only thing I want, Elisa thought, as she began walking toward the large entrance of the Eyerie Building. I just want them to be safe and happy...even if it means they are living under Xanatos' roof...

She finally reached the common room of the castle. Broadway, Angela, and Brooklyn were seated in front of a new wide-screen television that Elisa hadn't seen before. A new toy Xanatos bought for them, she thought. Hudson was also watching the new television, sitting in his new reclining chair which was a replica of the chair she had lugged

into the clock tower for him nearly a year earlier. Lexington was busy sitting in front of a top-of-the-line computer that also looked new to her, waiting for it to load up. Bronx was lying contentedly in front of the blazing fireplace, his eyes drooping, with a slight smile on his face. At the sound of footsteps, Broadway, Angela and Brooklyn turned around to see who their visitor was.

"Hi, Elisa!" Broadway exclaimed. The others waved, too wrapped up in their television show.

"Hey, guys. What's with the T.V? Is it new?" Elisa asked, knowing full well that it was new, but wanting to gauge their response.

"Yes," Angela answered, in her melodic voice. "Xanatos greeted us as we awoke, and told us he had bought this television set and that computer, as a 'castle-warming' gift. That was most thoughtful of him, wasn't it?" Thoughtful wasn't the word Elisa would have used, but no matter. She wouldn't upset Angela or the others tonight with her usual Xanatos-bashing. She stifled whatever sarcastic quip she had prepared beforehand and smiled a semi-sweet smile.

"Yea, it was." She looked around the common room, in search of the one gargoyle that seemed to be missing.

"Where's Goliath?"

Lexington, already typing away at the computer, answered her, without taking his eyes off of the screen.

"He's in the library, Elisa." She nodded, said thank you to Lexington and began walking briskly to the library.

Walking down the hallway to the vast library in the castle, Elisa had a few minutes to reflect upon the events of the previous few weeks. It felt good to get back into the routine of seeing Goliath and the other gargoyles before her shift, trying to get in as much time as possible before duty called her away again. She was trying to regain a sense of normalcy in her life after her brush with death on the eve of the Hunter's Moon, when she fell over the edge of a dam with Jason Canmore, the Hunter. He had saved her life that night, but still; the visions of her seemingly never-ending fall came every

time her head hit her pillow after her shift at the precinct. She was beginning to get frustrated with herself for continually having these nightmares, since she had always prided herself in being the strong cop, always being able to take care of herself.

Now it seemed that she had been traumatized by something any normal cop would simply shrug off, though one would have to strain themselves to call Elisa a normal cop, considering who her friends were.

She paused in the doorway of the library, just long enough to hear a page of a book being turned. She decided to call to him, just in case he wasn't alone.

"Goliath, are you in here?" she said quietly. She heard the noise a book would make if it was unintentionally dropped on the floor. It sounded like a heavy book at that. Then she heard footsteps—they sounded heavy but gentle at the same time. She stepped into the library slowly, partly because there was very little light, save the moonlight that

shone through the enormous windows adjacent to the bookshelves, and the light the fireplace gave off. A few seconds later, he stood in front of her, smiling. He took her delicate hand in his, and whispered her name,

"Elisa…" She could feel his love simply by staring into his eyes, and blushed slightly at this.

"Hi, Big Guy. What were you reading?" Elisa said, smiling tenderly. Goliath seemed to have forgotten, because he hesitated a little, trying to remember. His rich lavender skin quickly turned a light shade red. Suddenly, it came back to him.

"…Paradise Lost by John Milton. I have almost finished reading it. It is quite good." Goliath motioned to the couch positioned just in front of a roaring fireplace. Elisa walked to the couch and sat, followed by Goliath. Once on the couch, he took her hand again, and breathed in her soft perfume, an exotic flower of some sort, though he couldn't

put his finger on it. Any scent was a wonderful scent when it came from the flowing hair of Elisa.

"I can't stay too long, Goliath. I just wanted to come by before you went on patrol. I worked a double-shift last night, and Chavez is forcing me to take the night off and sleep. She knows I haven't been sleeping too well lately." There was growing concern on Goliath's face where a smile was just seconds before.

"Have you had that nightmare again, Elisa?" His gentle hand reached up to Elisa's bronzed face and caressed it lovingly.

"No, that's not it." She lied. She couldn't bear to lie to him, but she hated worrying him even more. "I haven't been sleeping well because of this new case Matt and I were assigned to—another drug shipment, courtesy of Tony Dracon. That guy just pushes my buttons. Last night, I was trailing him and managed to block the street his warehouse is on, and I couldn't talk to him after the fact because his lawyers consider that harassment." Elisa shook her head in a burst of anger.

"I just wish I could get Dracon off the streets for good. With guys like him around, this city won't ever be safe." She leaned her head against his massive chest, hearing his great heart beating steadily. His hand instinctively went to her raven hair, stroking it slowly, trying to comfort the frustrated detective.

"I understand, Elisa, but you must be patient and let the evidence mount. For now, there is nothing to do but wait."

Goliath said. Elisa laughed at his calm demeanour and smirked.

"Alright, Goliath. I get it. I'll calm down." She laughed. "So, tell me a little about this book you were reading…"

Getting back into her car a few hours after she had parked it, Elisa couldn't help but smile at herself. Not only did she keep from worrying Goliath, but she had also managed to keep him all to herself for those few hours. Usually they were interrupted by one person or another when they were in the library, but tonight, it was as if everyone knew the

library was off-bounds while the two of them were there. Turning on her engine, she immediately heard the police radio blaring loudly. She heard the description of the car that she had followed the previous night being followed by another officer.

"Officer LeFrancois in pursuit of a black 1996 Cadillac Escalade, license plate Angel Victor Charlie 5-0-0…" That's the one, Elisa thought. The Captain will have a cow knowing I went against her orders, but I have to help LeFrancois out with Dracon… She grabbed her police siren and stuck it on the top of her car. Instantly, it began screeching, and she peeled out of her parking spot.

After hearing LeFrancois' location, she was able to quickly get to it, and found herself driving only a few cars behind the speeding pursuit. After ten minutes of driving erratically through the traffic-infested streets of Manhattan, the chase finally led the three cars to the same neighbourhood that last night's chase had led Elisa to. This time, however, Dracon's goons couldn't act quickly enough to intercept the two police cars, and Elisa and officer LeFrancois sped right through an intersection they were trying to barricade. Suddenly, the black Escalade had disappeared. Both police officers realised

this quickly, and began reducing their speed as they drove one behind the other on this street. Elisa decided to turn off her siren, and LeFrancois did the same. Reaching a warehouse that was rumoured to be Dracon's, LeFrancois pulled into the parking lot just across the street from it, parked there and got out, holding his gun in one hand, just in case. Elisa pulled up just a few seconds afterwards, parked beside the other car, and she too grabbed her gun out of the holster and exited her car.

"Hey Maza, thanks for the help." Officer LeFrancois said genuinely.

"No problem, LeFrancois. Who was in that car? Was it Tony Dracon?" Elisa pondered. LeFrancois nodded his head.

"From what I witnessed, yea, that was Dracon being driven here. But that car just disappeared, huh? I guess I was too preoccupied trying to drive through that blockade those guys were setting up." He looked around into the night slowly, and then started to put his gun back into his holster around his chest. Elisa was a little more suspicious of the warehouse, and decided to keep her gun in her hand.

"Alright, Maza. I'm going to call it a night. I tried, but when they disappear like that, you can't be held accountable…"

LeFrancois said jokingly. Elisa nodded to him as she eyed the warehouse. "Yeah, me too. I've seriously got an appointment with a pillow tonight!" She smiled slightly, waved to LeFrancois, and started walking towards her Ford Fairlane again.

"Look at her, Glasses." Tony Dracon said, staring out of a one-way glass window on the fourth floor of the warehouse, watching as Elisa Maza waved to the other officer with one hand, while keeping her eye on—and her gun pointed to—the warehouse.

"She's somethin' else, isn't she. I knew that high-speed chase would get her to come here." Dracon smiled.

"Now it'll be a snap to get her."

Glasses didn't look impressed. "Yeah, boss, but why do we need her? You can get any dame you want to for this job, and you pick a cop. Why her?"

"Because, Glasses, she's feisty, and she's smart, and she's gorgeous. Those are the qualities I am looking for."

"But what if she doesn't go for it?"

Dracon's smile suddenly vanished, leaving behind an evil grin.

"We'll just make her go for it."

Elisa was just putting her gun in the lockbox above her hallway closet when she looked at the time. 2:18 am. She would have to be back on shift at 8 am. Damn, that's not enough time to sleep. Not with the nightmares I've been having lately, Elisa thought. She sauntered to the bathroom and washed her face, brushed her teeth and changed into her night clothes, which were just a tee shirt and a pair of old track pants. They were old, but they were comfortable. She pulled back the covers of her cool bed, and instantly was asleep.

She was suddenly in Broadway's arms, being carried to where Goliath and the Hunters were fighting. She felt anxiety, but the air sweeping over her face seemed to make her anxiety lessen slightly. Gliding with any one of the gargoyles tended to have that effect on her. She looked to the side, and saw Goliath leading a masked Hunter on a glider towards the sky, higher and higher. A wave of relief gripped her as the realisation set in that Goliath was alright. Broadway released her and she was now on the ground, pointing a gun at one of the Hunters: the brother of the man she had kissed, the Hunter named Jason who posed as a police officer…

"I don't suppose you can stop this?" She shouted to him, gun still pointed at him.

"I wish." Jon replied, looking towards Goliath and another Hunter, chasing one another.

Elisa was then on the edge of the dam, being nearly thrown over by Jason in a fit of anger as she tried to step in between them. Goliath made a swing at Jason, causing both Jason and Elisa to fall over the edge. All she could feel was water, and the unceasing sensation of falling, falling, falling…She saw Goliath reaching for her, but there was nothing she could do but allow the water to take her away from him. She heard the loud rushing sound of the water all around her…and, what was that other noise? It had never been heard in her dreams before...what was that? Was that the sound of glass breaking...?

Elisa slowly opened her eyes. Looking above her, a dark figure was standing there, towering over her. As she began waking up more, she understood that there was a strange man standing over her and watching her as she slept. She went to reach for

a spare gun she had hidden under her bed, but it was too late; the strange man grabbed her hand with his right hand and stabbed her arm with the syringe he had in his left hand. Darkness took her moments afterwards.

The room was dark when she finally began regaining consciousness. It was lighted only by moonlight that entered through a small window to the right of where she was. Elisa was lying on what felt like a waterbed. She began to move to stretch her arms when she felt her hands pinned above her head in what felt like handcuffs. She opened her eyes wider, trying to take in all she saw. She was definitely no longer in her apartment, but it was a bedroom of sorts as well. She was covered in two or three layers of warm bed linens. Below her head were two of the most comfortable pillows she had ever laid on. She tugged a little at the handcuffs securing her arms above her head, and felt that there was no give in the constraints. With what little light there was in the room, she could make out a television to her left, or it could have been a computer screen, though she couldn't have been sure. The anxiety from her nightmares began resurfacing as her mind raced with thoughts as to why she was there against her will. She felt her body trembling faintly, as if she was in a vehicle of some sort, but she interpreted that as her imagination running wild as different scenarios played out in her head. The thought occurred

to her to scream, but the sound of her voice might bring with it unnecessary trouble. She needed to know where she was and who had taken her there. Yelling and fighting weren't an option—yet.

She noticed on the other side of the small room that a door was slowly opening. The lights suddenly became brighter. Now she could see what was happening. Maybe, she thought, I don't want to see who or what brought me here. She nearly passed out when a familiar voice began to speak from the darkness the open door revealed.

"Hey, Sugar. Welcome to my private plane. I hope you'll enjoy your stay, because it's going to be permanent."

"Tony Dracon! What the fuck is this? What do you want! And where are we going!" Elisa spat angrily, causing the handcuffs on her wrists to clatter together. He moved closer towards the bed where she lay, standing to her left. The smile on his face was one she had come to know all too well. It was the smile he had when she confronted him about a shipment of stolen guns the night Broadway accidentally shot her in her apartment. He put a hand on Elisa's head and said, "Now, now, Elisa. Don't be angry. It doesn't suit you." Dracon said, patting her head lightly.

He calmly continued.

"We are flying to the Azores islands, and more specifically, to a small island called Sao Miguel." He paused, checking her expression. It was one still filled with hate. He proceeded.

"Now, your role in this little business venture will be very important." Elisa shook her head.

"Whatever it is, the answer is 'fuck you, Dracon.'" He laughed.

"Unfortunately, you have no choice…don't you want to know what it is you have to do?"

Elisa squinted her eyes in anger.

"What?" she snarled.

"Marry me, Elisa."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer**:  
I do not own Gargoyles, or any of the characters which appeared in the cartoon. All original characters seen here were created by me, but everyone else is not. This writing is for pleasure, not for profit...Please don't sue._

**_The Nightmares Saga Chapter 2: "Helpless"_**

Elisa lay on a strange bed, with her hands cuffed to the headboard, in her eyes focused on the man she loathed even more than Xanatos: Anthony Dracon.

"Marry you? What are you playing at, Tony?" Elisa asked, an air of complete confusion lacing her voice. The turbulence that shook the plane slightly from time to time didn't help her nerves one bit, either.

"Simple, Sugar." Tony pulled a chair from the side of the room and brought it over to the left side of the bed where Elisa lay. She had to keep reminding herself that she was on a plane, because the room had all the amenities of a normal bedroom, and she hardly felt the turbulence because of the waterbed that held her.  
Dracon sat down on the chair and rested his folded hands in his lap before he continued. His eyes, Elisa noticed, were glowing with a look of malice which only could come from a Dracon. He inhaled deeply, releasing his breath slowly in order to annoy and anger Elisa further at the delay. Then, he began.

"You see, Maza, once upon a time I had this Great Uncle Joe. He died a few months ago while he was living on this island. I was notified a week ago that I was the sole beneficiary to his vast estate. The problem is that he stipulated that I had to be married to get most of the money. That's where you come in, Maza." He looked pleased with himself.

"I guess there was no clause in the will saying that the woman had to want to get married to a snake like you, right?"

"Obviously, Great Uncle Joe wasn't picky about how I did it. As long as I did…" He smiled his devious smile. Elisa shook her head, closing her eyes tightly at the unimaginable idea of her marrying someone like Tony. He continued.

"So, the judge I bribed will be already at the compound when we land. I got you a ring and everything, Sugar—wanted to make this a real marriage." He reached up over her head to where her left hand was cuffed to the other hand against the headboard of the bed and held her left hand in his. Elisa tried to move it away from his, but the awkward position her hand was in didn't allow for much movement, and it was basically stuck in Dracon's hand.

"Don't touch me, Tony!" Elisa spat at him, trying to loosen her constraints. His dark eyes met hers. Instead of answering her with words, he stroked her hand gently with his. If Elisa didn't know any better, she could swear he looked wistful just then.

"We're going to be a great team, Maza—"Tony said, the wistful look disappearing from his face. "—the best team, honey."

"Yeah, that all sounds wonderful and everything, but why are we flying to Portugal? Were all the flights to Paris booked up?" Elisa questioned, the bitterness bouncing off the walls.

"Not only was this island home to my great uncle Joe, but it is actually where your future in-laws vacationed for their honeymoon. They never stopped raving about how gorgeous the scenery was. Hell, I was probably conceived in this very country."

Just then, there was a buzzing sound followed by a man, most likely the pilot, saying, "Mr. Dracon, we'll be landing in Ponta Delgada in ten minutes. Please prepare to land, sir." Dracon looked down at Elisa, smiling.

"Well, I better take my seat. You just stay there. We'll be home soon." He got up from his chair, and disappeared behind a dark blue curtain, leaving Elisa cuffed to the bed, with a face full of hate for the man who put her there.

The Manhattan skyline grew darker as the sun set for another day. High above the city, the gargoyles woke. One by one, they shook off their stone skin and began preparing for their evening. Jumping off his perch, Broadway stretched contentedly.

"Hey guys! I'm feeling in the mood for waffles before we go on patrol! Anyone want some?" He asked the clan. Brooklyn, Lexington and Angela smiled.

"Mmm…you know I never say no to your waffles!" Angela replied. The others were nodding as well.

"Alright guys, let's go!" Broadway exclaimed. Goliath flew down from his perch as the trio and Angela walked into the castle. Hudson waved to him to join them in the living area where the television and computer were situated.

"Evening, lad." Hudson said, addressing Goliath. As he took his seat in front of the television, Bronx made his way beside him, and plopped himself down on the floor.

"Good evening, my friend." Goliath replied. "Aren't they patrolling tonight?" He motioned to the kitchen, referring to the young clan members.

"Yes, it sounded ta me like they were wantin' a bit of food before headin' out fer the evening." Hudson answered in his rich Scottish accent. Goliath nodded. He was about to take a stroll outside the castle when he noticed the lack of Elisa's presence when he woke. She is on duty most likely, Goliath thought. Perhaps I can aid her in some way if that is the case. With that thought, he unfurled his wings and jumped off the edge of the castle wall, using the wind currents to soar into the night to find his love.  
After nearly an hour of gliding to the normal spots, trying to locate her very memorable and unique Ford Fairlane, Goliath was beginning to think she had taken ill and gone home. Her car was not parked in her usual spot in front of the police station, nor was it near that warehouse she had mentioned the previous night. Goliath decided to check up on her in her apartment. He was beginning to grow uneasy with knowing that she might be ill. As he glided towards her apartment, his mind raced with visions of her beauty and the kiss they shared on the night of the Hunter's moon. Well, he thought, the kiss that she gave me. He didn't have time to react to it properly, and ever since then, they hadn't really discussed their feelings for one another. The only thing they both knew was that their growing relationship was something that they both wanted to explore and nurture. Sure, she had kissed him on the cheek a few times since then, but with her hectic schedule at the police station, the few moments they had with one another tended to deal with matters far removed from the heart. Tonight, perhaps, they would finally discuss their feelings and move past the polite formalities once and for all. Goliath was nearing Elisa's apartment window when that last thought flew through his mind. He looked down towards the parking lot she always left her car when she was home, and it was there in the usual spot. A relieved sigh escaped his lips, but something was still out of place—as he got closer to the apartment, he noticed that the large window that he and the other gargoyles usually used to enter her apartment was wide open. He landed smoothly on the balcony and stepped into the apartment.

"Elisa?" he called out, followed by silence. "Are you here, Elisa?" Followed by more silence. Cagney, Elisa's cat, purred, and ran towards Goliath. He leaned down and held him in his arms, stroking the cat's fur very slowly.

"Where is your mistress, Cagney?" Holding the cat still, he walked from the living room, to the kitchen, back to the living room, then venturing to walk to the bedroom. He bent down a little and let the cat down, then straightened up and pushed the door to the bedroom door open. The small lamp on the table beside the bed was on, and the room looked orderly, except for the fact that the bed was unmade. This wasn't odd in itself, since Elisa was hardly renowned for her tidiness, but it was strange that the lamp would have remained on, since it would have been morning when she went on duty. Puzzled, Goliath turned again to inspect the room from a different angle. At that moment, there was a 'beep' that was audible from the living room. Goliath knew instantly that this sound came from the machine attached to the phone that recorded messages when Elisa was not available to answer the phone. He walked over to the living room, and leaned over the answering machine. It beeped again.

Goliath read the button that said "listen to messages" and pressed it. The machine then said, "You have three new messages." Goliath's concern grew at that. The machine began playing the first message. It came from a familiar voice.

"Hey Elisa, rise and shine, girl, it's Matt! It's 9:30, where are you? Call me back so I can at least cover for you…but it better be good...uh…ok, bye." Beep. The next message played.

"Elisa, seriously now, it's 11. Where the hell are you? Chavez is going to have your ass if you don't at least call in! Come on, partner, call the station. Alright? ok…bye." Beep. The third message played. As it began, Goliath growled with worry. Where could she have been all day?

"Alright, Elisa, it's now 5 o'clock, and I don't know where my partner is. Your car is outside, so it's not like I don't know you're home. Call me!" Beep. The machine then said, "End of messages…" Goliath's concern mounted to no end. But where could she be? Why wouldn't she at least leave a message with Matt or write a note and leave it in her apartment? And why would she have left the window wide open in the middle of November? Just then, there was a loud knocking on the door.

"Open up, Elisa! Come on! Honestly, I know you're there…" It was Matt, pleading to get inside the apartment. Goliath walked towards the door and looked into the peephole to ensure Matt was alone. He was indeed alone, so Goliath opened the door.

"Goliath! Jeez, I didn't expect to see you here…do you know where Elisa has been all day?" Matt asked as he hurried inside the apartment and closed and locked the door behind him. Goliath shook his troubled head.

"No, Matt. That is why I came here. She did not greet me as I awoke, and I became worried when I did not see her along the normal patrol routes."

"Great," Matt said, "We've got one detective, unaccounted for. Have you searched the place, looking for anything that could tell us where she is?" He asked as he surveyed the room quickly with his eyes at first, then by walking around to the different rooms as Goliath had done moments before. When Matt reached the kitchen, he stopped, frowned and looked up at Goliath. Matt pointed down to Cagney's food and water bowls.

"These are empty. Elisa NEVER leaves these empty, even when she's on shift. She makes us stop to refill these almost every night. Something is wrong here." He kneeled to the floor in front of the sink where she kept Cagney's dry cat food, and poured out some into one of the empty bowls, then grabbed the water bowl, washed it quickly and filled it to the brim with fresh water. Cagney obviously noticed these actions, because almost immediately he rushed over to where Matt was standing. Goliath growled at that revelation. Matt then walked over to the window that Goliath noticed was wide open and crossed his arms.

"No wonder it was freezing in here! This window was left…wait a minute. There are jagged pieces of glass here. This window was broken into, and whoever did it got rid of all the smashed pieces of glass remaining on the floor and on the pane." Matt exclaimed. Goliath nodded silently, though inside, a struggle to yell and scream began, and only ended when he and Matt went to speak with David Xanatos.

"Gentlemen, I really do wish that I could do more to help, but her communicator is offline, and has been for a few hours now. I had Owen confirm that the last signal came when she was in her apartment at around 3:02 am last night." David Xanatos stated, trying to sound more like a friend than a businessman. Goliath and Matt had gone to the clan and told them their suspicions, which led to their asking Xanatos to track her communicator using the signal it omitted. It had worked in tracking the Hunters a few weeks previously.

"This is strange." Lexington said. "Her car is still at the apartment, the window was broken, Cagney hasn't been fed in nearly 24 hours, and she didn't show for work at all today. That is completely out of character." He finished his thought, summing up exactly what was on everyone else's mind at that exact moment.

"Father, do you think someone may have caused her harm?" Angela asked, holding onto Goliath's massive bicep. She looked to Elisa as a best friend, or, even still, a mother figure. With the prospect that she might be hurt, Angela needed to know she would be alright. Goliath gave her a look of comfort, yet did not feel it himself.

"If someone has harmed Elisa, we will surely make him pay, however, for the time being, we all need to keep our hopes up. Perhaps she was stranded somewhere or was lost." Goliath mentioned, knowing all too well that, with their luck, that was not what had happened to Elisa. "That is why we should double our patrols until we find her. Everyone, if you find any trace of her, report back to either Xanatos or me. Understand?" Goliath asked the clan. They all either nodded or said "yes, Goliath."

"Xanatos," Goliath said, as the others filed out of the office and onto their patrols, "if you hear anything, will you let me know?"

"Of course, Goliath. I know what it is like to worry about someone you love." He nodded.

"Yes, I do love her...Thank you, Xanatos."

Shortly after landing on the island, a blue gas filled the room where Elisa lay handcuffed to the bed, causing her to lose consciousness. When she came to, she found herself in another room, only this one much more comfortable and homey than the last, and bathed in a rich sunlight that poured in through a medium sized window. Hanging from the window were very delicate-looking white drapes, shielding her eyes from the more powerful rays of sunlight. There was a large television set in front of the bed. If she had been there for any other reason, she probably would have considered the bedroom the perfect place for a honeymoon, but given the circumstances, she thought everything in the room was repulsive. Elisa stretched after her forced sleep, to find that her hands were again bound, but instead of handcuffs, they were bound with a soft fabric. Thinking that she could break through this material, she began trying to pull it off or snap it, only to find that the strain caused great soreness to both her wrists, so she quickly ceased trying. She noticed that she was no longer dressed in the night clothes that she was wearing on the plane, but instead, she was dressed in a dainty light blue nightgown, with very thin spaghetti straps and a lower-than-normal neckline. She shuddered at the thought of who could have changed her into that. Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and there stood Tony Dracon, looking as smug as ever.

"Hey, Maza, you clean up real nice. I hope you like that colour. Consider that a wedding present." He walked up to her and touched her face.

"Fuck you, Tony. I already told you. I'm not marrying you. You're out of your goddamned mind." She said, trying to move her face out of range of his hands. He then took her head in both his hands and kissed her hard on the lips. There was nothing she could do to prevent it. She felt repulsed the second his lips touched hers, bringing with them a taste of alcohol and cigarettes. After this kiss, Dracon's face owned a renewed sense of arrogance. Elisa noticed this and asked, "Why so smug, Tony? Never kissed a girl before? And by the way, that SUCKED." He turned toward the judge standing in the doorway. He had managed to creep quietly into the room without Elisa hearing him. Dracon pointed to him.

"Because, Maza, he just married us." He grabbed her hand somewhat forcefully, and slid a gold wedding band on her left hand's ring finger. It matched the wedding band on Dracon's left ring finger. He then ran a hand through her long blue-black hair. Suddenly, making a face, he withdrew his hand from her hair and pulled something out—the communicator she used to speak with Goliath. Dracon held it closer to his eyes to take a good look at it.

"Ha. This is a cute little thing, isn't it? Too bad the signal blockers I had installed here on this compound stop all radars from receiving any signals from things like this." He walked over to the window and chucked the communicator out of it. Elisa didn't even have enough time to get her hopes up before they were squashed. She had completely forgotten to take the communicator off before going to bed last night, and it must have gotten caught in her hair.

"So, I guess you get your money now, huh? All's well that ends well, right? What happens next?" Elisa asked, still trying to get that disgusting taste of zambucca and cigarettes out of her mouth.

"It's not that simple, wifey." He mocked. "Great Uncle Joe had a few more stipulations: namely that I have to remain married for longer than six months…"

"What!" Elisa screamed. "You mean I have to stay here for six months—"

"Sugar, you're here permanently. I told you that already when we were on the plane. You'll learn to love me…you'll see." He laughed. "Now, I have to run some errands. Enjoy the day. I will let you do as you please in this room. If you leave this room, the guards outside will have to teach you to listen to me and I don't want my wifey bruised and beaten, you know?"

He leaned over, almost gently, undid the bindings on her wrists, caressed Elisa's face, turned and walked out the door. Elisa couldn't believe what she had just heard. All her life, she was a strong, independent woman, taught that a man was never to stifle her nature, but to nurture it and support it. Now, as she sat upright on this king sized bed, in a dainty nightgown, against her will, she felt powerless—utterly powerless—and it scared her terribly. How was she going to get herself out of this one? Her mind turned to Goliath. Was he out looking for her? Did he even know she was missing? How long would it take before he forgot about her? She closed her eyes tightly, and tried to drift into sleep, only to be tormented with the nightmare of falling off the dam on the night of the Hunter's Moon…she had no rest that night, nor did she get any meaningful rest for the next few weeks...


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer**:  
I do not own Gargoyles, or any of the characters which appeared in the cartoon. All original characters seen here were created by me, but everyone else is not. This writing is for pleasure, not for profit...Please don't sue._

**_The Nightmares Saga Chapter 3: "Time Goes By"_**

_Sao Miguel, The Azores, Portugal..._

Another day was dawning, and Elisa could feel the warm sunlight entering her room and touching her eyelids like an unwelcome guest. She forced her eyes open to greet the beginning of another day in the Azores—another day of torture.

Her days usually began in this manner. Everyday for a month, the duration thus far of her confinement on this island, she would awaken from a nightmare—the same one that haunted her before she was kidnapped—with the light from the window hitting her face. A few times, she was wakened by Dracon himself kissing her delicately on the forehead. She objected the first and every subsequent time he did it, yelling all sorts of profanities in his direction, but he would laugh out loud and walk out of the room, locking her in from the outside.

She would usually be put to sleep by a pleasant-smelling gas that entered her room through a vent located directly above her bed. The first time the gas entered, Elisa thought that she was going to die, because she could barely breathe as the gas filled her lungs. She had asked Dracon why he would put her to sleep in this manner, and not just wait until she would fall asleep on her own, and he had answered, with that typical Dracon smirk, "I'm a sick, evil fuck. That's why, Sugar." She knew that she was completely knocked unconscious every time the gas entered her room because on the third night he had knocked her out with the gas she noticed that she had a tiny pinprick on her lower torso that was sore. If it hadn't been sore, she wouldn't have even known it was there. When she confronted Tony about the mysterious pinprick—which she suspected was the place a syringe would have entered her—he told her that it was all in her head. The pain dissipated later that week.

At around 9am, 12:30 pm, and 8 pm, Elisa would be escorted by gunpoint to the dining room where Tony Dracon would already be seated, waiting for her. It was a smaller sort of room, with just enough space to comfortably house a table and four chairs. There was also another large window looking onto the beautiful roving countryside of Sao Miguel. The room was painted her favourite shade of yellow, though nothing would cheer her up, except perhaps a knife sharp enough to jab into Tony Dracon's back, but even those were hard to come by.

Every meal consisted usually of a soup (which was never hot enough to scald), followed by a fish or pasta dish which didn't require the use of a knife, and her forks and spoons were always plastic. Even the plates and cups were paper. Dracon never took chances with her while they ate. He knew her spirits were still in need of being broken, and that she would attempt anything to escape.

Her first few meals with Dracon were at gunpoint, since she tried to refuse to eat the first week. Dracon wouldn't have it, however. After that he always made sure that she ate, and the hired goons holding the guns would not be needed during the meal. Elisa found that a bit odd that Tony would care so much about her eating, but she figured the healthier she was, the longer he could torture her.

Dracon would recount any sort of news he heard from Manhattan at breakfast, since he did go there at least two times that Elisa counted. A few weeks after her kidnapping, he had told her about how the police were beginning to lose hope in finding her safe, and the papers were already presuming that she was dead. Not wanting to break down in front of Dracon, she waited until she was finished eating, was escorted back to her room, and then cried herself into a dreamless sleep. She was beginning to get emotional over the littlest things that would have once rolled right off her back. Elisa figured it must just be the effects of being held captive and worrying about her family…and the clan.

The days would either be spent watching Portuguese television, which was impossible for her to interpret, (since she only had the basic knowledge of the Spanish language, and, as she learned very quickly, the two languages were quite different) or watching the other satellite channels. She was particularly interested in the BBC, since it gave her valuable information about the entire world. She hoped she would see something with regards to her disappearance that might give her some hope, but day after day, as she watched her large television in her beautiful room, she saw nothing that would keep her hope alive.

Elisa hadn't taken this confinement laying down, so to speak, at first. She tried to escape the next day after her forced marriage to Dracon through the window in her room by smashing a small chair into it. The chair broke into many pieces the second it hit the pane of glass, sounding an alarm. The window, however, remained completely intact, retaining only a few scratches as proof of the chair's contact. Some of the pieces of the broken chair managed to hit her, and one caused an extensive slash along her forearm. Bleeding from the wound, she nearly collapsed in the arms of one of the goons that came rushing to the sound of the alarm. Tony wasn't too sympathetic to Elisa's wound, but grudgingly ordered her to be escorted to another room to have it taken care of.

She did manage to escape once, a few days after her experiment with the window. She had tricked the guard near her door to open it, because she told him that the toilet in her private bathroom was flooding. He opened the door to see if he could fix it, and she tripped him upon his entry into the room. As she began to run into the unfamiliar hallway, her spirits began to soar; she was going to be free, was going to hitch a ride to the American embassy, call her family in Manhattan, and would see Goliath again in no time. Her hopes were quickly dashed as four large goons ambushed her and knocked her unconscious. When she awoke, she was laying once again in the king sized bed, with her hands tied to the headboard, and Dracon scowling over her. "Not a smart move, wifey." He had said with his face only inches away from hers. The contempt dripped from his voice, and the smell of red wine hung on his breath. "I told you that would happen. You're lucky I showed up when I did, or Bruno over there," he pointed behind him to one of the brutes that ambushed her, "he would have knocked a few of your pretty teeth out or broken your arm. That was a warning, sugar. If you try to escape again, you might not be so lucky." With that, he had walked away, followed by the goons.

Elisa didn't know the extent of the injuries until she leaned slightly to the side, to face the window. The reflection from the window made her yelp in shock. Both her eyes were blackened; there was a thick trail of blood from a cut on her right cheek. And there was a sudden sharp pain in her ribs as she went to look at herself in the window's reflection. By her years of police experience, she knew that sharp pain was indicative of at least one bruised rib. She instantly lay back down, closing her eyes tightly, trying to imagine what, if anything, she could do to prevent this from happening again. Nothing came to mind. Well, one thing, but it went against everything she believed in: to stay a prisoner and not try again to regain the freedom that was so quickly stolen from her. No, she thought. I can't do that. That would mean that Dracon wins. This can't happen. I'll just bide my time and wait until he slips. He'll have to sooner or later. In the meantime, I will just have to play nice…

_Meanwhile in Manhattan…_

Goliath brushed the stone skin from his mighty shoulders and stepped down from his place among the other gargoyles atop the castle parapets. The others had also just stepped down and joined him, with looks of defeat on each of their faces. Elisa had been missing for a month to the day, they all knew it and were dreading to face Goliath about any matter today.

Lexington and Hudson walked slowly from their respective parapets to the television room in the castle, followed by Bronx, who wasn't looking as carefree as he once did. Broadway and Angela waved a quick good bye and glided to the gardens on another level of the castle. Brooklyn watched them soar into the night together with a solemn look on his face.

Elisa was missed by all the members of the clan, not just Goliath. She was their confidante, their best friend in this world, and the one who had their backs when they were on patrol. Being separated from Elisa, even for a month, was tough. They all had hope that she would be found, but without any clues, witnesses, and even the police now giving up hope to find her safe, the clan's hopes, too, were fading fast.

Goliath watched the night sky as he always did, feeling that Elisa was alive somewhere, but torn inside, knowing that there was nothing he or the others could do without clues. As he searched his memory of the night she disappeared, he recalled everything with clear vision, and shook his head. No, there was nothing more he could think of. He had gone through the entire scene with Matt that very night, and Matt had called in her disappearance immediately afterward. They had not missed anything. Just then, Goliath heard light footsteps approaching from behind him.

"Hey, Goliath." It was Matt. "How've you been"  
Goliath once again shook his head and turned to face Matt.

"I have been trying to piece together the events of the night Elisa disappeared, but it seems that there is nothing we are missing. Surely the police have some leads?" Goliath asked with an air of faint hope resonating in his baritone voice.

Matt sadly glanced at the stars and answered.

"None. Whoever or whatever broke her window was careful not to cut themselves, or leave a single fingerprint or bloodstain. Forensics checked out her apartment from top to bottom, and the only sign of any sort of struggle is that broken window. They checked every piece of broken glass found at the scene, and even picked through the carpet. Nothin'." Matt paused, looking up at Goliath. "But I think I asked you how you've been." Goliath realised that he had completely avoided the question, and almost embarrassedly answered him after a few seconds.

"I have not been myself lately. I did not realise how we would miss her so if she were to be taken from us—if she were taken away from me. The whole clan feels her loss, but none more than I." He bowed his noble head with grief.

"I know what you mean. It's like my left arm is missing or something. Things just don't feel right without her there to yell at me or scare me with her erratic driving. Ha, I never thought how much I could miss her, either. I guess that's just how things work, right? You never know what you had until it's gone. We're finding out now. Hopefully, though, we'll have the chance to tell her personally how much we've missed her." Matt said. The confidence in his voice was completely artificial, but it was enough to make Goliath nod.

"Yes," Goliath said. "I know she is alive. I cannot fully explain it, but I feel her somehow. That is all I know. We must not give up hope that we will find her. We—I cannot lose her. We have just found each other." Matt placed a hand on Goliath's strong shoulder and said, "We have to find her. We will find her"

_Back in Sao Miguel, late evening…_

Elisa's room, which had been empty of anything remotely entertaining for only a few days, was now furnished with two large bookshelves filled with books, as well as DVDs that she could watch on her flat-screen television—Anything to keep her diverted, and her thoughts far away from her situation, though nothing truly helped. Reading books only made her imagination work overtime and her thoughts wandered to Goliath numerous times. Tonight, in particular, Elisa thought of nothing else than to be in Goliath's arms once more. To feel the simple joy that she felt when he caressed her hand or kissed her gently on her forehead was something she longed to feel once more. On the television, a Portuguese soap opera was not helping her cravings to be with Goliath, either. Though she didn't understand a word the actors were saying, the intonation in their voices and their movements were enough to help her comprehension. Elisa decidedly turned the television off and lay back on the bed, and closed her eyes tightly, envisioning Goliath's warm look. She smiled simply at the thought of Goliath. Suddenly there was a rustling noise just outside her door. Elisa immediately knew who was outside her door, planning to disrupt her pleasant thoughts of Goliath: Dracon.

She was not disappointed; Tony Dracon's spiteful voice could be heard as he spit out orders to his hired goons before entering her room. Dracon entered Elisa's room and quickly closed the door behind him. Walking towards the bed where Elisa lay, rapt in her thoughts, Dracon began almost giggling.

"What the hell is so funny, Dracon?" Elisa contemptuously asked. He looked down to her and then kneeled to her level on the floor beside the bed.

"The look on your face before I walked in here was precious…what were you thinking about? Or should I be asking 'who' were you thinking about..." Dracon squinted.

"I don't know what you're trying to imply, but whatever it is, drop it." Elisa retorted coldly, knowing full well that Dracon had always suspected that Elisa had a soft spot for Goliath and that he was the one Dracon was referring to.

Dracon laughed again.

"Ok, Wifey, that's fine. You don't have to 'fess up to it. It doesn't matter anyways, since you'll never see him again. You will be otherwise occupied here, with me." He smirked and let out a final laugh before beginning again.

"Anyways, the reason I wanted to talk to you is that i wanted you to know that most of Uncle Joe's fortune is now in my Swiss bank accounts. Thanks, Sugar." He planted a rough kiss on her head that resulted in her nearly slapping his face, but almost immediately, he seized her right wrist as her palm was about to make contact with his cheek. He held on harshly, making Elisa nearly cry out in pain. As he applied more and more pressure to her wrist, the look on his face was one of annoyance and infuriation.

Through clenched teeth, he said, "I'm getting a little tired of all the violence against me. This hostility will have to stop soon. Or you'll have to be dealt with. And trust me, Sugar, you don't want to be dealt with." What seemed like hours went by until he finally released Elisa's extremely sore right wrist. She rubbed the tender bruised areas on her delicate forearm and wrist, looking up at Dracon as he rose from his kneeling position at Elisa's bedside with tears of pain forming and threatening to fall from her chestnut eyes. Dracon began to walk away. He paused at the foot of the bed, turned toward Elisa and said, "Remember that, Wifey. I own you now. What you do to me will have serious consequences, so you might want to think twice about trying that shit again. I won't tolerate a woman who doesn't know her place." His eyes were like fire, burning a hole in Elisa's heart. His words made her shudder, and she turned her head away from him, tightly closing her eyes once more.

He walked to the door, opened it, and was about to walk out of her room when she suddenly opened her eyes. Something had just occurred to her.  
"Tony! You just said that you only got some of the fortune now that we're married. How do you get the rest now"  
Intrigued at the question, Dracon walked back towards her bed, nasty smile glued on his face. Upon reaching her bed again, he hovered over her. He then stared into her beautiful brown eyes, and, with an air of confidence, said,

"If you have my child."


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer:  
I do not own Gargoyles, or any of the characters which appeared in the cartoon. All original characters seen here were created by me, but everyone else is not. This writing is for pleasure, not for profit...Please don't sue._

**_The Nightmares Saga Chapter 4: "The Dream of a Child "_**

Darkness and silence. Elisa is alone in a hallway. She looks around, but sees only the darkness enveloping her. She takes a few steps to the right of her, with her hands outstretched, and feels a wall. She takes a few steps to the left of her and behind her, and she feels a wall as well. The only way to move is forwards, so she slowly begins walking, with her arms still outstretched in front of her, in case she encounters another wall. Suddenly, out of the darkness, a noise can be heard. She walks towards this noise, though she cannot make out what it is, or what sort of creature can be making it. She follows it nonetheless. She walks for what seems like hours, always towards the sound.

Finally, when her feet begin to feel heavy and tired, the sound becomes amplified and she knows what exactly it is; it is the sound of a baby crying loudly and violently. Panicked, Elisa begins running towards the cries, wanting to ease the baby's pain and cradle it against her. Light suddenly replaces the darkness and Elisa can see what is in front of her: a door made of mahogany wood. The baby's cries are coming from the other side of this door. Without a second thought, Elisa reaches for the doorknob. The door opens before she touches it, and she walks through it. The door slams shut behind her.

She looks around her. She is in a nursery. It is painted a faint shade of baby blue, with white clouds gracing the walls here and there. In the right corner of the room, there is a wooden rocking chair with a white fluffy pillow on the seat. Directly beside this rocking chair, there is a changing table with two stuffed bears on the top, and a short pile of clean diapers. Radiant beams of sunshine enter through a small window beside the changing table, bathing the room in pure light that allows Elisa to see these things such as the crib in the left corner of the room. She walked slowly to the crib. The cries persist. Elisa reaches to crib, and peers into it.

She sees a baby boy, his eyes red from crying. He stops crying when he sees Elisa. His face is round, and angelic. He has a little blue-black hair on his perfect head, and his eyes tell her this is her son, but his nose and mouth remind her of someone she hates; she can't figure out whom, though. She bends over to pick up the child but suddenly his peaceful face transforms into that of a monster with large fangs, giant, crazy eyes and fur covering his whole face. The baby's body instantly metamorphoses into a large wolf-like creature, and begins howling at Elisa, and attempting to bite her. In shock and fright, she backs away from the crib and runs for the door of the nursery. She tries to open the door, but to no avail.

The creature has escaped from the crib, and now stands on two legs, with a stature of over 8 feet. It begins walking towards her, still howling and still bearing his teeth at her. Elisa, now completely terrified, hears something in the midst of all this chaos that makes her even more terrified; the sound of Tony Dracon's malicious laugh. Banging on the door, Elisa shouts at the top of her lungs to be let out. The creature approaches her and suddenly lunges at her. Elisa feels nothing, except the warm sun touching her face. She awakens.

_6 am…_

Opening her eyes abruptly, she saw Tony Dracon standing over her in his usual way. Elisa realised she was shaking from her nightmare and tried to calm herself. She raised herself up from the bed, fixing the pillows behind her back. Tony lowered himself to her level, and laughed.

"What was all that screaming about, Wifey? Were you having a nightmare? Aww." He asked with mock sympathy. He placed a hand on the bed and raised himself from the floor. Again, he stood above her.

"I guess the power of suggestion is pretty intense, Tony, because I just dreamt that I had a baby. And that baby turned into a monster." Elisa said, with her eyes tightly closed, trying to rid her memory of the image of the baby changing into that hideous creature who attacked her in the nightmare. Dracon began laughing again.

"Suggestion? If you say so, Sugar. But I highly doubt that it was just what I told you last night that caused this nightmare…" He pointed to the door of the room, and it opened, and a man in a white lab coat entered. He had a stethoscope around his neck, and carried a clipboard. Dracon shook his hand and continued.

"I'm going to let you in on something I should really keep a secret for a while. This is Dr. Marco Oliveira, one of the doctors I paid extremely well to care for you. You will become very familiar with him over the nine months or so."

Elisa's eyes widened.

"Dracon, there is no way that I will sleep with you, and if you even consider raping me, you'll be missing your dick by the end of it." Elisa added. Dracon sniggered again.

"Elisa, remember when you first came here and you asked about this pain in your stomach from what you said was a pinprick? That was the good doctor here using his advanced tricks to get you pregnant." Dracon nodded at Dr. Oliveira. "Rape is low even for us Dracons." He added. Elisa was dumbfounded. It was impossible that something like that would work to impregnate her...wasn't it?Dr. Oliveira nodded at Dracon, and began to speak with a heavy Portuguese accent.

"It's true, Elisa. I did inject you with a special serum that should have worked to impregnate you. Coincidentally, Mr. Dracon," He turned to Tony. "I have the results right here. I had a test conducted last night after her little…fit." He looked down to his clipboard, and adjusted the thick glasses on his nose.

"And…?" Dracon asked.

"Sir, let me be the first to congratulate you. You are going to be a father."

Dracon was elated. His smile was contagious, at least to the doctor. Dracon could not contain his joy over the news. He shook the doctor's hand and looked down at Elisa, whose eyes were filling with tears. Dracon kneeled down once again; his eyes met Elisa's eyes with a mean and spiteful look.

"Well, Sugar, there you have it. You better take good care of yourself now, because if that kid dies," he patted her stomach quickly, "you die. Get it?" His look softened slightly, and his features did a complete about-face. He placed a hand on her cheek, almost in a loving manner.

"You should be excited, Elisa. This will be our first child. And maybe the next one will be conceived in the natural way."

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. The contact made between his sour lips and her delicate forehead made the tears fall freely from her eyes as she stared at an unknown spot through the window. She was still in shock, and didn't retaliate against the kiss as she normally would. She felt the fighting spirit in her diminishing with this news. He got up from the floor again and walked out of the room with the doctor. The door slammed behind them.

Elisa was alone again with her thoughts. This time, however, a new thought entered her head.

_I am pregnant. Deep inside, I somehow felt it. I somehow knew it._

Elisa swallowed hard. Her throat became dry just thinking about being pregnant, let alone carrying the child of a dreaded enemy. Also, her growing self-awareness was something she was not used to, either. She was suddenly quite aware of her stomach, and it was as if she already felt a new life growing inside of her, though she knew this was impossible at this early stage in the pregnancy.

Pregnancy, Elisa reminded herself, I am pregnant. I always thought I would be happy when I decided to have a child. But this is all wrong. I don't want a baby—not like this…  
She continued to cry that morning until she was called to breakfast.

_Manhattan, 12am._

Goliath sat in the library, trying to read the rest of the book he had almost finished reading the night Elisa disappeared, Paradise Lost. His mind kept wandering to Elisa the way it did every night. What was happening to her at this very minute? Was she safe, or running for her life? Either way, these thoughts were beginning to frustrate the lavender gargoyle. Knowing that he could still do nothing but wait was killing him. He realised that the more he thought of Elisa, the less reading he would get accomplished. He slammed the book shut in frustration and got up from the sofa and put the book back in its rightful place on the bookshelf. He grabbed the poker from its place beside the fireplace and moved the few pieces of burning wood around until the fire glowed brighter than it did before. He glared into the fire, his mind on distant things.

He had spoken to the Clan about Elisa's disappearance, and how finding her would be their top priority, but he feared that he was also putting the people of Manhattan at risk, since the Clan were very rarely foiling robberies or stopping carjackings lately. He could not place Elisa's safety above the safety of the city in good conscience, as much as he would have liked to continue to. He resolved to speak to the Clan right then about this. With that, he left the library and headed for the courtyard of the castle.

"…and so I feel that perhaps we should continue to search for Elisa, but ensure that we are putting our patrols first." Goliath sighed. He could see the looks on the clans' faces were those of disagreement. The younger gargoyles were hesitant to disagree with their leader, but Brooklyn was the first to speak.

"Goliath, we are still patrolling. Just yesterday, I helped a little old lady who was being mugged, and Lex and I scared away some punks from a couple of college girls walking home. Right, Lex?" Lexington nodded furiously.

"He's right. We did. And we are looking for Elisa and along the way. If we see something suspicious, we check it out." He paused, hoping for someone else to add their opinion. Angela heeded his silent plea.

"Father, Elisa is dear to all of us. It would not make us bad protectors of the city if we were to concentrate on finding her over our normal patrolling, but we are still protecting this city. We must not give up hope that we will find her. I don't think I can think of the alternative…" Angela's voice trailed off. She turned away from the clan so that they would not see her tears. Broadway, standing nearby, walked toward her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Goliath sighed again. "I see. I do not want to neglect our duty to the people of Manhattan, but if what you are saying is true, perhaps we can continue putting all our efforts into searching for Elisa." Hudson laid a hand on Goliath's shoulder. "Aye, Goliath. I think that would be the best course o' action right now. Elisa will always be a part o' this clan, and we will continue to look fer her until she is found. But we must keep hope alive. 'Tis the only way, lad." Hudson smiled faintly. The others nodded at his words. "Very well. We will not give up hope that Elisa will be found. We will find her. I swear it."

_The next day, Sao Miguel, outside the Dracon Compound, 3:42 pm_

Stray dogs were an unfortunate commonality in Portugal. With little or no animal control in place, animals that no one wanted became wandering souls along the streets and country sides of Portugal, even on the islands, looking for handouts from friendly strangers and eating from garbage bins left outside.

A stray Jack Russell terrier, once named Diva, trotted along the country side of Sao Miguel, in search of some food and a place to sleep for the day. She used to belong to a farming family a few kilometres from the village of Ribeira Grande, but when the family decided they had too many animals, they set poor Diva free. Now Diva was at the mercy of the elements and of God.

Diva came across a fenced off area. This fence looked sturdy enough, but Diva did some digging and was able to get under the fence easily. Her small size also helped. She sauntered around this grassy meadow until she came to a very large house. Her nose could smell some cod fish being cooked. She trotted toward the house. Something suddenly caught her eye. It was a small black disk that flashed with a red light. The dog pawed at it and touched it with her snout. Diva then picked it up with her mouth and trotted closer to where the smell of fish was coming from. She waited by the door where the smell was the strongest for nearly an hour. When no one came out and offered her some of the fish she smelled, she decided to take her new treasure and leave the meadow the same way she came in. With that, she turned and began ran off of the Dracon compound, with Elisa's communicator securely held between her teeth.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer:  
I do not own Gargoyles, or any of the characters which appeared in the cartoon. All original characters seen here were created by me, but everyone else is not. This writing is for pleasure, not for profit...Please don't sue._

_****_

_**The Nightmares Saga Chapter 5: "Reality Leaves Its Mark "**_

_She stands in a familiar but dark room. Her parents and her love stand before her, with angered and malicious looks on their faces._

_"What! You are pregnant? You carry that swine's child in your womb?"_

_"Yes—no, I mean, he impregnated me…" She starts, with the tears beginning to fall fast._

_"You whore! You mated with him, and now his seed grows within you." His once gentle voice resonates with vicious anger._

_"No! It isn't like that. Please! He injected me with something, and now I'm pregnant. Please…I love you. This was completely against my will. You must believe me! Dear God, why won't you believe me?" She pleads.._

_"You lie! To think that I could trust and actually care for a whore like you…Be gone from my sight! You are no longer a part of this clan, nor will you remain our confidante. LEAVE!" Her love points to a door that suddenly appears before them. She looks to the door, and when she turns back to him, her love disappears._

_"What? My daughter, is this true?" Her mother asked in amazement._

_"Yes, mom, but please let me explain…"_

_"You are a disgrace to our family," Her father yells. "…to carry the child of a criminal! You go against all that our family represents!"_

_She goes to her parents with her hands outstretched to hold them, perhaps in apology, when they both take two steps backwards._

_"We wash our hands of you and this demon child! Be gone from our sight!" Her parents shout in one voice._

_"It isn't this child's fault! Please don't blame my baby! Please!"_

_"We don't; we place the blame squarely on your shoulders for allowing this to happen. You have besmirched our family name, and for that, you will never be forgiven…"_

_They disappear, leaving her devastated, and alone; she is now truly alone._

_The darkness dissolves slowly._

She wakes.

Elisa awoke sobbing, in the throes of this new nightmare. She was facing the reality of being pregnant and, more terrifyingly, carrying Tony Dracon's child. The dream, however, had revealed her darkest fear; she feared her loved ones would reject her and this child if they ever found out of his or her existence. Of course, this completely depended on if she would ever break free from Dracon's compound. Perhaps she would remain his prisoner in this house and this foreign country for the rest of her days. This thought caused her eyes to release more tears.

Elisa wiped her eyes with the top bed sheet and sat up in the bed. She propped the pillows behind her, and looked around her room. There were new books on the two bookshelves near the window that she had not seen before; no doubt they were placed there while she slept that night. She could see that the cover of the book on the top of the pile had a baby on the front. She immediately recognized the book as one of those guides to pregnancy she had seen the last time she was at the bookstore in Manhattan. Dracon wanted her prepared, and since she had so much free time on her hands while she was confined to this room, she could read these books and become familiar with all the ups and downs of motherhood.

Elisa could not truly believe this was happening to her. She touched her stomach over the covers of the bed, and tried to make the idea of being a mother stick in her head. It still felt as if it were a nightmare.

She had a rising sense of nausea, no doubt morning sickness combined with the images her previous nightmares had left her. She rose from her bed and hurried to the small bathroom that was located on the other side of the room. Falling to her knees in front of the toilet, she lifted the toilet seat and nearly dunked her head in the bowl, allowing the bile and last night's soup to come up. Her hair, once thick and flowing, was now a tangled and thin mess, so Elisa didn't care one bit that it was not being held away from the toilet. The colour escaped from her face, leaving her normally tanned skin a paler shade of olive. As she continued to vomit, she could make out the sound of the door to her room opening and footsteps approaching.

Tony, she thought. He's come to gloat. Sure enough, it was Tony, wearing his usual expensive suit and shined shoes. He walked towards the bathroom after seeing that Elisa was not in bed as usual. Stopping at the door, which Elisa had left wide open in her haste to get to the toilet, Dracon whistled as he played with the two diamond rings he had on his fingers.

"Enjoying the pleasures of pregnancy already, eh?"

Elisa turned a little to look into his eyes, and perhaps spit at him, but she was weakened from the vomiting, so she could only glare at him with contempt.

"Elisa, you look like a truck ran you over, backed up, and ran over you again. I want my wife looking better than that when I come and see her…"

Elisa turned again to the toilet, as another round of vomit was threatening to come out. After a few seconds of dry heaving, keeping her eyes on the toilet bowl in front of her, she said, "Fuck you, Tony. You are going to burn in hell for what you are doing to me." Feeling somewhat confident, she kicked her leg out behind her, making contact with Tony's shin. He let out a loud scream, and dropped to his knees in pain. Elisa rose to her feet shakily and attempted to run for it, when she felt his hand on her ankle, squeezing tightly, and yanking backwards on it, causing her to fall to the ground. Luckily, she had her hands break her fall forward. Dracon got up and crouched over Elisa where she fell on the floor just outside the bathroom door. He seized her hair harshly, and pulled it back so that her head was above the ground in a painful angle. He lowered his mouth to her ear.

"You fucking bitch…you're lucky that you're pregnant, because otherwise I would have kicked your stomach until you were coughing blood. I'm going to have to teach you a lesson in manners."

He pulled her hair back further until her throat was constricted enough to make it hard for her to breathe. He continued.

"Lesson one, bitch: respect your husband."

With those words, he used his free hand to turn the diamond ring on his hand around and slapped Elisa hard on one cheek, causing her old cheek wound from when she was first brought to the compound to reopen and begin bleeding again, as well as adding to the cuts. He maintained his hold on her hair, and he pulled back again.

"Lesson two: violence against your husband will only cause more pain for you."

Dracon slapped the other side of her face with considerably more force than the first slap had been. Her eye immediately hurt her terribly, and she felt a trickle of blood beginning from her lip and new cuts caused by the sharp point of the diamond ring he had turned towards the palm of his hand. At this injury, Elisa began to cry, but could not sob because of the awkward position her head and neck were in. She could see his face from the corner of her eye. There was something sinister and terrifying about the way he looked at her, and the way his lip curled as he began speaking again.

"And the final lesson, Wifey, don't fucking swear at your husband!" Dracon yelled, pulling her hair just a little more then letting go of it without warning, causing Elisa's face to hit the hard tiled floor. She felt bruises and cuts on her cheeks and suspected at least one of her eyes would be black by the end of the night.

Dracon rose, straightened his suit, and looked down at Elisa, who was still reeling from the slaps he had bestowed upon her.

"Follow those rules, and you just might survive life with me for the next 70 years." With that, he stepped over her and walked out of the room.

Elisa slowly rose from the floor, and walked to the bathroom mirror to inspect the damage done to her face.

Just as she had suspected, one of her eyes were swollen and would be darkened in a few minutes. The cuts on her cheeks were caused by Dracon's rings on either hand, and stung as Elisa tried to clean them with water. While her hands were under the cool running water, she took a palm-full and ran it through her tangled hair, cleansing it as best she could without shampoo. Since she was not given any sorts of bandages or gauze pads, she had to hold toilet tissue to the cuts until they stopped bleeding. Holding the tissue to one cheek, she walked to the bed and sat upon it, facing the window.

She felt the wedding band that had been thrust onto her left ring finger a little over a month ago. It was smooth and gold. The band was thick and made her think that Tony had actually spent a bit of money on it. She rotated the ring once on her finger. She hated feeling it on her finger, but Tony had once warned that if she took it off, she would have her finger broken. She didn't want to take that risk over a ring that meant nothing to her anyways.

Her body ached, not only from Dracon's visit, but from heaving just seconds earlier. She rubbed her stomach with one hand and her neck with the other hand. Feeling emotionally and physically exhausted, she felt tears forming again in her eyes.

iDamn these hormones making me emotional/ishe thought. iI never get like this. I also never let someone manhandle me like that. He probably would have broken a rib or two if I wasn't pregnant. This baby is killing me, yet his or her existance also saving me. /i

She raised her nightgown until her stomach was bared. It was still fit and flat. She knew that within two months, there would be a little bulge there to indicate that she was pregnant. She again put her hand to her stomach. Looking down at her stomach, she spoke aloud.

"I swear to you, Little One, that I will protect you, as you protected me tonight. No more tricks. I will make nice with Dracon for you. My reason for living is now to ensure you are safe and taken care of. I promise you, my child, on my own life."

As she said her final words before pulling the pregnancy guide from the bookshelf, a single tear rolled down her cheek.

_The district of Feijao Baixo, Sao Miguel, 7:27pm_

Diva was tired after a night of roaming the countryside. She followed her nose to some freshly baked bread and had finally reached her destination. She was still carrying the communicator in her mouth since it intrigued her so that it blinked and made wooorrrr-ing noises. The owner of the bakery was just closing his door for the lunchtime when he spotted the Jack Russell terrier looking desperately at the store.

"Queres um pouco de pão, cãozinho? Penso que sim!" (iDo you want some bread? I think you do/i) The kind baker said, reopening his door, and allowing the small dog to enter. Diva dropped the communicator onto the narrow sidewalk and followed the baker inside the shop.

_Meanwhile, in Manhattan, 4:27pm_

Owen Burnett, also known as Puck the fey, was diligently filing some paperwork for his boss, David Xanatos, when a beeping noise alarmed him. Looking around his office for the source of the beeping, he noticed one of the many screens on the wall adjacent to his desk had a blinking light on it. This particular screen showed a world map on it, and the red flashing point was flashing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Surprised to see the radars picking up one of the communicators in the ocean, Owen decided to speak with Xanatos. Perhaps he had sent one of his employees to Europe without informing him. He picked up the telephone receiver on his desk and dialled.

"Mr. Xanatos, there is something I think you should see."

"What is it, Owen?" Xanatos replied.

"One of our communicators has just come online, and our systems are showing its' location as the archipelago of the Azores in the Atlantic."

"I don't recall sending anyone—"Xanatos had a sudden thought. "I'll be right there."

"You were right, sir. That is Detective Maza's communicator whose signal our radars are picking up from Portugal. But why hasn't it worked for four weeks now?" Owen stated calmly. Xanatos nodded, deep in thought.

"Regardless, Owen, Goliath and the others must be notified immediately. They will probably be very anxious to go to this island to check it out. Have the jet prepared. We will leave shortly after sunset." Xanatos turned to walk away when Owen spoke.

"Right away, sir, but what if Detective Maza is not with the communicator or worse yet, what if the communicator is attached to a corpse?"

Xanatos shook his head, attempting to rid his mind of that gruesome image.

"Let's focus on getting to Portugal. The rest we'll have to figure out when we get there."

That said, Xanatos continued walking out of the room, and began his short journey to the parapets where Goliath slept in stone to await his awakening.

Roars of awakening gargoyles could be heard ringing in the night. Goliath was the first to awaken. Turning to jump off of his resting place, he saw Xanatos standing there. Curious, Goliath walked to him.

"Xanatos, what brings you here, waiting for me to wake?"

Xanatos' face showed his excitement for the prospective development in the disappearance of the detective, though it was not for sure that it was a good development. Xanatos believed this would be a great opportunity to prove his trustworthiness to Goliath and the clan if he helped in bringing Elisa home. "I have news, Goliath. Detective Maza's communicator just came back online about three hours ago. The signal is coming from an island of the Azores called Sao Miguel. I have my private jet ready to fly us over there. It's a 5 hour flight. If we leave right now, we will have some time to check things out before you sleep again. It's a 5 hour time difference."

Goliath's eyes widened at the news.

"This is most welcome news! We will go there and bring her home! Let us go now, then!" He could not hold his excitement and relief, but Xanatos had to brace him for what they could find.

"Goliath, don't get your hopes up. This is a lead, for sure, but this doesn't necessarily mean that we will find her where we find the communicator. For all we know, she might already be…"

Xanatos stopped himself for fear of Goliath's wrath at the idea of Elisa being dead. It was a wise choice, because Goliath understood what Xanatos' pause was about, and roared loudly, summoning the others to join him on the top parapet.

"NO! She is NOT dead! We will bring her home!" He shouted to Xanatos. The other gargoyles began coming to the top parapet. Angela was the first at her father's side.

"Father, what is the matter?" Angela looked at Xanatos. "Why is father so upset"  
Xanatos looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry for implying that she is…dead, Goliath. I hope that I am wrong. I just want you to realise the seriousness of the situation."

Lexington, Broadway, Brooklyn and Hudson flew up to meet Goliath and Angela. Bronx could be heard running up the stairs to get to the top as well.

"What's going on, Goliath?" Lexington asked cautiously.

"Yes, lad, what is all the yellin' 'bout?" Hudson asked.

Goliath looked over his clan, took in a deep breath and began.

"Xanatos says that Elisa's communicator is now emitting a signal. It appears she is in Portugal. We will leave at once to bring her home." Goliath said, ignoring what Xanatos had just said about getting his hopes up. As his words were spoken, the clan began demonstrating their relief, and speaking all at once. Xanatos stood for a few seconds, seeing how the news was affecting the clan, knowing that if he were to speak to contradict their hope that she was safe, he would have a very silent or very loud 5 hour flight. He decided to talk to them after they landed on Sao Miguel.  
"If everyone would follow me, we have a plane to catch."


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer:  
I do not own Gargoyles, or any of the characters which appeared in the cartoon. All original characters seen here were created by me, but everyone else is not. This writing is for pleasure, not for profit...Please don't sue._

__

_**The Nightmares Saga Chapter 6: "Rescue Mission "**_

**__**

**__**

David Xanatos' private jet soared through the clouds over the Atlantic Ocean, carrying seven gargoyles, Fox Xanatos and David Xanatos. Fox flew the plane as Xanatos was on his cell phone, making business calls. This had been an unforeseen 'business' trip for him, but his company still continued operation. Owen Burnett had been left back at the Eyrie building to oversee business in Manhattan if matters became more complicated in Portugal, and necessitated their stay to be extended. Also, he was a great babysitter for young Alexander Xanatos.  
Fox sat in the pilot seat, steering the plane through the clouds and a patch of turbulence, listening to David as he wrapped up his last business call of the night. After he hung up, she looked over to him.

"David, what do you think we'll find when we trace the communicator's signal?" Fox asked, keeping her eyes on the sky ahead of them. Her husband looked over to her and frowned.

"I sincerely hope we find Detective Maza safe and sound. Otherwise, we will have to deal with seven very angry gargoyles. I tried telling Goliath to prepare for anything, but he is convinced that this is a rescue mission. I didn't have the heart to press the subject further." Fox shook her head sadly.

"David, if the situation was reversed and you were out there looking for me, would you listen to Goliath if he said the same thing"  
David reached for her hand on the shifter and held her hand for a few brief seconds.

"…you're right. I wouldn't, of course. I would be as stubborn as he is." Xanatos smiled slightly, leaned over and kissed his wife's forehead. He then rose from his seat beside Fox and was about to walk into the passenger area when he turned his face towards his wife and completed his thought.

"I always had a feeling that Goliath and the detective shared an attraction for one another. It is clear now that this is the case since this situation is taking its toll on him. He's been quiet lately, and almost detached from the others. We had better find the Detective, sooner rather than later."

Meanwhile, in the passenger cabin…The gargoyles were amazed by the flight, but also that they were going to bring Elisa home. Broadway, Brooklyn and Lexington were busy discussing the latest Adam Sandler movie they watched, and what parts Elisa would like the best, while Hudson and Bronx were napping. Angela was also napping until about midway to the Azores. She looked around, noticing the others were chatting but seeing that Goliath was sitting alone, looking apprehensive. She walked over to the seat beside him and put one hand on his. At this action, the others stopped talking and tried to hear what was being said between father and daughter.

"Father, you seem quiet. Would you like to talk about what is troubling you?"

Angela asked Goliath. Goliath looked into his daughter's kind eyes, knowing that he could not shut her out from his feelings. He sighed and began.

"I am worried about Elisa, now more than ever. I have missed her so terribly, but if this signal gives us no clue as to her whereabouts, I fear that this will feel as if I have lost her all over again." Goliath said. He realised that the entire clan had been listening to what he was saying, since when he stopped talking, the rest of the gargoyles instantly began speaking, as if they hadn't been listening.

"We mustn't think like that. Wherever she is, we will find her. This signal that was picked up is a good start to finding her. I have a feeling that this communicator will lead us to her." She smiled at her father, hoping that her smile would ease his pain and apprehension, and bring him a sense of relief. Goliath did smile back at her.

"Thank you, Angela. I, too, feel that she is safe, though I fear that she may be injured or in pain."

"Well, we are on the right track to finding her, then. Now, let's get our minds off of this. Perhaps we should watch one of these iin-flight movies/i Xanatos kept telling us about…"

_3 Hours Later…  
_

"Everyone, please fasten your seatbelts because we are about to land in Sao Miguel. The local time is 4:48am. The sun will be rising in approximately an hour and a half." Fox's voice was heard over the intercom from the cockpit. Everyone on board took their seats and prepared for landing.

The plane touched down upon the island of Sao Miguel in a private clearing of land Xanatos had purchased specifically for the purpose of landing his private jet just that afternoon. After the landing, David and Fox were the first out of the plane to ensure that no one was around that would be unfamiliar with the gargoyles. When they saw the coast was clear, they signalled to the gargoyles that it was safe to exit the plane. One by one, they walked down the stairs of the plane and onto Portuguese soil. They were fascinated by the natural splendour they witnessed: luscious green grass, roving country sides, and clean, pure smelling air. Goliath took in a deep breath of this clean air and exhaled.

"Except for the lack of moisture in the air, this country has similarities to Scotland." The others agreed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we don't have much time to scope things out before sunrise. I suggest that you all see what you can find while I find the source of the signal." He pulled out a little hand-held electronic device no bigger than a cell phone. He turned the device on, and it instantly began beeping. He looked up at Goliath.

"I assume you want to come with me?"

Goliath nodded.

Xanatos pulled his trench coat off to reveal his exo-suit. The thrusters turned on and he and Goliath glided off to locate the communicator. Fox, Angela and the other gargoyles were left behind. Fox looked at the others and said, "You guys should do some air surveys to see if there is anything unusual going on. I'll stay here and keep watch of the plane and await your return. Remember that the sun will rise in a little over an hour." The gargoyles nodded, and ran off to find higher ground to glide off of. Fox walked back into the plane and began tracking Xanatos with his own communicator.

High above the district of Feijao Baixo, David Xanatos and Goliath glided side by side, with David going in the direction of the arrows on his electronic signal tracking device and Goliath following him wordlessly. They glided through the early morning air for a good 20 minutes until David stopped in midair, pointing to an indistinct location on the ground below them.

"The signal is strongest down there. Let's go."

Goliath watched as Xanatos weakened his boosters and lowered to the ground below. He followed.

Once on the ground, Xanatos and Goliath were in front of a bakery. Xanatos looked down once again to his tracking device to see where they should walk to next. The beeping was the loudest across the street from this bakery. Since it was nearly 5:30am, there were no people walking the streets, nor were there any cars. In this small district, the morning didn't actually begin until after sunrise. Only on the farms did the day begin before. Goliath was hesitant of walking around, but after scoping out the street, and seeing that it was void of any movement at all, he felt Elisa was worth the risk of being seen and continued to follow Xanatos.

They walked towards the other side of the street until the beeping sound coming from the tracker was as loud as it had ever been.

"The signal is coming from…" Xanatos looked around the ground for the red blinking light that would be blinking on the communicator. Then he saw it a few steps away. "…there."

He walked over to the communicator and picked it up to inspect it. It was intact, and functional. He looked over at Goliath, who was walking over to inspect it himself.

"It's obviously operational. It's lucky that it wasn't driven or stepped on, and I highly doubt that it would be waterproof, so my guess is that it was dropped here ivery/i recently." He confirmed. Elisa was not found with the communicator, and that was something he had suspected would happen. Goliath looked around them for some sign that Elisa was nearby. His eyes wandered over the trees and cobblestone roads and stores and businesses nearby, but it was obvious that any trace of her would surely not be found within the trees or stores. Xanatos was still inspecting the communicator when Goliath finally spoke.

"What are we to do now? This communicator could have been planted here as a trap us. She may not even be here."

Goliath's disappointment was turning into anger. Xanatos saw this coming, so he was thankful that sunrise was just minutes away. He pointed to the sky and said, "Goliath, we'll have to get back to the plane now…we will discuss it with the others before sunrise. Let's go." Xanatos said decisively. Without an argument against it, Goliath followed him to the plane.

Back at the plane, the other gargoyles had returned with no news. Fox was talking with them when Xanatos and Goliath returned. The sun was a few moments away from rising, so Goliath had to be quick about what he had to say to his clan. "We found the communicator but no sign of Elisa. We will have to continue the search tonight." Goliath relayed to his clan in a downhearted tone. Their hope of finding Elisa quickly was dashed. Hudson, Angela and Broadway looked as if they were on the brink of tears, while Brooklyn, Lexington and Bronx seemed as if they were ready to attack the next person who spoke. Since Xanatos was the next one to speak, there would be no attack necessary.

"The perimeter is secure, however just to be completely sure, it would be safer if you all sleep in the plane in case we have any visitors during the day." He saw the sun beginning to rise off in the horizon, so he tried to summarize his words.

"Fox and I will be around to make sure you are alright, and see if we can get any word from the locals about any new people in town. But don't worry; we will search high and low until we find something." Xanatos said, walking to face Goliath. He placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"Thank you Xanatos for your help. We will resume our search for Elisa on this island tonight." The sun rose just as his final word was spoken.

_The Dracon Compound, 9:15am_

Tony Dracon sat in the dining room of the compound, awaiting Elisa's arrival at breakfast. He was feeling quite self-satisfied this morning after this face-off with her the night before. He had shown her who was boss in this marriage, and was expecting a different attitude this morning from her. He wasn't disappointed, either. When Elisa came into the dining room, she was quiet, but her demeanour was not as unpleasant as it usually was at breakfast. She sat down at her normal place beside Tony, and was served her breakfast of scrambled eggs, buttered toast, two thin pieces of bacon and a glass of orange juice without incident. Tony began his usual routine of asking Elisa how her sleep had been, and much to his surprise, she actually answered him this morning.

"I slept well, thank you." She replied simply. Dracon's eyebrows rose a little at her neutral response. He decided to continue asking her questions.

"How are you feeling this morning? Any more nausea?" He asked, with genuine concern in his voice. Elisa looked up from her breakfast and tilted her head at him. His tone amazed her. She was taken aback for a quick second, then remembered that he had asked her a question.

"Uh…yea, actually. It's going to be hard for me to keep this breakfast down." She answered honestly. At this, Dracon clapped his hands once. Instantly, his employee, Glasses, appeared.

"Glasses, when you are doing your deals today, go to the pharmacy and grab some of that stuff to stop nausea. And while you're at it, get some Band-Aids and some antiseptic solution to clean her cuts. "

"You know I won't be back until dark, boss. My jobs are going to take me all day."

"Don't worry. We won't need that stuff until later anyways. Just get it." Tony replied. Glasses nodded his head and left the dining room.

"Thanks, Tony, but I don't think Gravol will help this type of nausea." Elisa said, looking down at her plate of nearly untouched food. Just the smell of the food was causing her stomach to revolt.

"Damnit...I'm going to have to go to the bathroom. That bite of bacon is already making me sick..." She had one hand on her mouth after she uttered those words. Tony understood that meant that she had to vomit now, so he got up, grasped her forearm gently, and escorted her back to her room.

After the gargoyles had turned to stone, Xanatos removed his exo-suit and dressed in his usual outfit which consisted of a black suit. He then called a taxi to pick him and Fox up and drop them off in the village where the communicator had been found. They had breakfast, did some shopping in a private clothing store, Fox gathered some local newspapers, and then she took a taxi back to the plane. Xanatos stayed behind in the village to gather information, if any, on any unusual happenings lately.

At around 11:13am, after Fox was already in the jet, Xanatos began walking the cobblestone streets of the village of Feijao Baixo, hoping to get some clue of Elisa's whereabouts. By lunchtime, he was window shopping and seeing if there was anything else his wife would like in the meantime.

He was in a women's undergarment store finding some expensive lingerie when his attention was drawn to a dark man walking into a pharmacy across the street. He looked very familiar to David, as if he had seen him on the news before. Xanatos decided to seem completely engrossed in the items on the lingerie rack nearest to the window facing the pharmacy and wait until the man left that store. He waited for nearly twenty minutes, and then the dark man walked out of the pharmacy with a plastic bag in his hand. Xanatos had just enough time before the dark man turned a corner to see his face and recognise him from Manhattan: that was Tony Dracon's employee, Glasses.

Xanatos waited until Glasses was walking a few blocks away before leaving the lingerie store and following behind him. After a few minutes, Glasses turned into a restaurant. Xanatos decided to wait for him to finish his meal. He had a feeling that he had something to do with Elisa's disappearance. Even if his hunch was wrong, it wouldn't hurt to find out why he was in Sao Miguel.

_Xanatos' Plane, 12:18pm_

Fox Xanatos sat alone in the private jet, reading the morning paper from Portugal. True, it was in Portuguese, but she was skimming through it for any sign of Elisa at all. She had been flipping through the paper now for a little over an hour, and still nothing. She dropped the paper down and picked up the next one. Just then, there was a ring of a cell phone. She walked over to where her cell phone was, on the seat nearest to Angela, frozen in stone. She knew the only person calling her would be David.

"Yes, David. What have you found?"

"Not what, my dear. Whom. You remember Tony Dracon's hired thug, named Glasses, don't you?"

"You have got to be kidding me? What the hell is Glasses doing in the Azores!" Fox nearly shouted into the phone.

"I intend to find out. I'll report back when I have something."

"Be careful, David."

"Always." Xanatos replied confidently. He hung up.

_Xanatos Plane, 7:19pm, just after sunset…_

Xanatos sent a taxi to pick Fox up from the jet just after sunset so that the gargoyles could follow the car through the night sky to Xanatos' location in the village. Before leaving, Fox had explained to Goliath and the others that David had seen Glasses in town and was following him. He did not stop following Glasses because Glasses was involved in some shady dealings with some shady gentlemen all day. Xanatos could spot these types of transactions since he had done some jail time, and was until recently, a part of that underbelly of society. He suspected Glasses' presence in Sao Miguel had something to do with Elisa because he had never heard of Tony Dracon's operation extending all the way to Portugal. It couldn't just be a lucky coincidence, could it?

Everything had gone according to Xanatos' plan, and the taxi dropped Fox off where Xanatos was having a coffee, keeping an eye on the door that Glasses had last entered. All the gargoyles had followed the taxi and were now perched on a rooftop of a taller building, though most of the buildings in Sao Miguel were quite low to the ground when compared to Manhattan skyscrapers. Fox joined him and David Xanatos filled his wife in on everything he had seen; a trip to a pharmacy and many drug deals and sales of other types of merchandise that he could not see from his distance.

Unexpectedly, Glasses left the building Xanatos had seen him walk into and pulled out a cell phone. After a few seconds, he stuffed the cell phone back into his pocket, and a black limousine pulled up. He hopped in and the limousine drove off. Right away, both David and Fox jumped up, threw some American money on the table to pay for the coffee David had drank, and hailed a taxi, ordering it to follow the limousine. Above the action, the gargoyles had seen everything and followed the taxi, taking care not to be seen by anyone below, especially Glasses in the limousine.

After following the limousine through winding roads for about ten minutes, the limousine stopped outside an enormous house whose grounds were fenced off. The limousine had stopped just for a few seconds, long enough for the gates to open. The limo drove into the compound and the gates closed behind it. The taxi in which Fox and David were stopped a block away from the house at David's orders. They paid the driver, waited for him to drive off, and then flagged the gargoyles down. They all seemed excited and riled up to kick Glasses' ass just for being in Portugal selling drugs. Broadway was the first to speak after the chase.

"I would bet anything that Dracon is in that house, too. Glasses never goes anywhere without his boss." Broadway mocked. Xanatos agreed.

"Yes, but you can't just charge in there. If they even think you all are here, they may stop whatever is going on in there before we have a chance to stop it."

Goliath nodded.

"Aye. We should check this place. If you find anything that relates to either Tony Dracon or Elisa, do not engage. Wait for backup. Understood?" He asked his clan. They nodded, understanding that words were superfluous right now. They began walking towards the house. Angela, Broadway and Goliath found higher ground and caught a current of wind, while the others began to run on all fours until they were closer to the house. Xanatos and Fox walked cautiously towards the house, each with a gun in their hands, just in case David's hunch was right.

Goliath was the first to get to the garden surrounding the house. To make himself less conspicuous, he draped his wings over his shoulders and walked along the perimeter of the house, again, making sure no one would see him. He came across the window of a room with a strong light on. The room was painted a pleasant shade of yellow that reminded him of Elisa—perhaps it was just because he missed her so much. In this room, there was a dining table and two chairs. _Strange_ Goliath thought, _that such a large home would only have a dining room with two chairs in it_. He continued walking.

He walked for a few minutes until he came across another room, where the light was a little fainter. Upon first inspection, there were a few bookcases along the walls, a large screened television and a king-sized bed that had the covers pulled back as if the owner of the bed had gotten up in haste. In this room, there were two doors: one door was closed, and the second door was ajar. He could see the white porcelain of a toilet bowl between the crack between the door and the doorframe, and a light on in this room. He began walking away from this window when he heard it: the sound of something crashing to the floor. He rushed back towards the last window to see what the cause of the noise was. That's when he saw Elisa lying on the ground, who fainted after another bout of vomiting.


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer:  
I do not own Gargoyles, or any of the characters which appeared in the cartoon. All original characters seen here were created by me, but everyone else is not. This writing is for pleasure, not for profit...Please don't sue._

_****_

_**The Nightmares Saga Chapter 7: "Retribution "**_

Goliath had to do a double take before realising that it was actually Elisa on the floor in the room beyond the window. Elisa had been too weak after another bout of vomiting to make it to her bed before collapsing on the floor face down. Luckily her hands were in front of her as she fell, breaking her fall.

Goliath's eyes burned white with worry for his love. He used his massive physical strength to smash the window and enter the room. As the window smashed into many pieces, the alarm that had once alerted Dracon's goons of Elisa's first escape attempt sounded a second time. Not caring what that sound was, Goliath rushed to Elisa's side on the cold tiled floor of the room, lifting her up and placing her on the bed. He whisked a stray hair away from her face with his hands, being as careful as possible not to scratch the already bruised and lacerated skin on her beautiful face. He quickly inspected herface and immediately saw numerous cuts and bruises that were plain on her cheeks. He also noticed instantly that the colour was gone from her face, and that she seemed to have lost nearly ten pounds. His worry grew with these realisations. He held her hand and stroked it passionately.

"Elisa, please wake up. You look so pale. What have they done to you?"

His eyes burned more with concern than anger. He looked up at the door to the bedroom as he heard the sounds of a battle outside. _The others have found Glasses perhaps_, Goliath thought. _They will not disturb my reunion with Elisa, then_. He looked back at Elisa's still form lying on the bed.

"Please, I have missed you so very much. I have been a shell of my former self without you. I…"

Goliath stopped, as he saw Elisa's eyelids fluttering open. A smile graced his noble face for the first time in over a month. Though the sounds of gunshots and bodies flying were heard, to Goliath, the only person in the world right now was Elisa. He stroked her hand once more, and her eyes flew open at the sensation of his hand on hers. She gasped upon seeing him, her eyes still wide. Realising that it was Goliath, she relaxed somewhat.

"Goliath? Am I dreaming? I must be…no that's impossible…oh god…I'm hallucinating…yeah, I'm hallucinating now…oh god…" Elisa rambled almost incoherently. Goliath touched a talon to her mouth.

"No, you are not dreaming. I am here to take you home to Manhattan. You are safe now, my Elisa." He said, cupping her cheek with his hand. Elisa nodded, with a grin on her face that, too, had not been on her face in over a month. She reached up and hugged her saviour. The hug was sweet and loving. As they hugged, Elisa said a silent prayer in her head. _Thank you God for bringing him here to find me,_ she prayed.

"Goliath, I can't believe you found me. I thought I would never see you again. I thought I would never be able to tell you…" She paused. He let her go slightly to look at her.

"What? What did you want to tell me?" Goliath asked, having a good suspicion what it was.

"That I—" Elisa was interrupted by the sound of the door to her room opening, and the sound of a gun cocking. She and Goliath turned towards the door, still holding each other in their embrace. Tony Dracon stood at the door, looking dishevelled and wheezing from lack of breath.

"**Let go of my wife, monster**!" Dracon spat, with his gun pointed at Goliath and Elisa.

Goliath's eyes widened with surprise. He looked at Elisa for confirmation or denial of this allegation. She looked down at her left ring finger sadly. She held up the hand to Goliath to show him.

"He forced me. I would never marry an asshole like him willingly." Goliath glared at Dracon.

Goliath knew that she had been kept against her will, but being forced to marry Tony Dracon was strange torture, and it enraged Goliath to know that Elisa had endured more than a month of this brand of torture. He looked at Dracon with the most anger he had felt for anyone in a millennium, and began.

"You are the monster here, taking Elisa from her home, and marrying her against her will." He stated, uninterested in the fact that Dracon had the gun pointed at him still. He reached down to pick Elisa up from the bed, when Dracon spoke again.

"Let her go, you fucking weirdo. Don't make me do this." He pointed the gun away from Goliath and now had it aimed at Elisa. Goliath saw this, and straightened up. He looked into Elisa's eyes, which were now beginning to fill with tears. She knew that he had to fight Dracon in order to win her freedom completely. She nodded very slightly to Goliath, and at seeing her motion, he lunged at Dracon. The gun had no time to go off, because by the time Dracon knew it, Goliath had already taken it from his steady hand and had thrown it across the room.

The fight between Dracon and Goliath first began in Elisa's bedroom, but Dracon, scared for his life, began running through twisting and turning hallways in the house with Goliath chasing him on all fours. Goliath followed Dracon for at least ten minutes until he reached a strange and dark room. Without any idea as to where Dracon was within this room, Goliath had no choice but to venture further into the room and find him. Nothing could be heard but the whirring of machinery and beeps of computers functioning all around Goliath.

"Come out, coward! I am not leaving until I have you and you pay for your crimes against Elisa!" Goliath roared into the blackness of the room.

"She is **MINE**!" Dracon could be heard yelling from somewhere in the room."You can't take her away from me! Her home is with me now! She is my wife now!" His voice dripped of psychosis and delusion. Goliath shook his head as he took another few steps into the room.

"No! Elisa's home is with her loved ones in America. I am going to take her home and away from you! Come out so that I may show you my wrath!"

He suddenly saw the shadow of Dracon running past him, running through the door, and closing it behind him, leaving Goliath trapped in this room. Instantly, the lights came on, and Goliath saw that he was surrounded by televisions. Most were showing surveillance of Elisa's room, but two others were of the grounds. Goliath saw the televisions of the grounds were capturing his clan members fighting Dracon's guards, and winning. He also saw that Xanatos had gotten his exo-suit and was helping in the fight against Tony's guards. His attention then was drawn to one of the televisions that showed the events in Elisa's bedroom. Tony had gotten there, and was holding a tranquilizer gun. Elisa was about to escape through the window when he arrived there. Goliath could hear everything that was being said as well.

"Don't even think about it, Sugar. I don't want to hurt you again," Dracon said, with his usual malicious tone. "…but I will if necessary." He had the gun pointed at Elisa's back. Elisa put her hands up in the air and turned to face him.

"Tony, the place is surrounded with gargoyles. You can hear them kicking the asses of your employees right now. Do you really think they won't get you?" She suddenly remembered that Goliath was not with him.

"Wait, where is Goliath? What did you do to him!" Elisa asked desperately. Dracon's smile widened.

"He's watching this right now. Wave to him, Wifey." He pointed to where the camera was located in the room. Goliath saw this and roared with rage.

"You fucking prick. He better be alright or—"

"Oh, he's fine. I'm not sure you will be, though."

"What the hell does that mean, Dracon?"

Pointing the gun at her arm nonchalantly, he fired a tranquilizer dart at her.

"That. We have been married for over a month, and we still haven't consummated the marriage. I think it's about time." Elisa's eyelids instantly became heavy and her knees grew weak. Falling backwards, Dracon was there to catch her. He picked her up and put her back on the bed.

"You f-f-fucking…asshole. Get…away…from………me…" Elisa burbled incoherently as she slipped in and out of consciousness from the effects of the tranquilizer.

Goliath's rage was quickly becoming unbearable as he saw the horror of the scene in front of him. He smashed one of the television screens with his fist and ran towards the door that Dracon had closed behind him. Goliath pounded on the door with his fists until the door finally flew off its hinges as if it were made of plastic. Surely Dracon knew that locking a door like that one would only stall Goliath temporarily from getting to Elisa.

Getting down on all fours, Goliath ran desperately through the maze that had led him to the surveillance room. Dracon knew that the only way to have any time alone with Elisa was if he ran through the house and the series of hallways that all looked similar in order to throw Goliath off and have him become lost within the hallways of the house.

Meanwhile, Dracon had already stripped Elisa down to her bra and panties when she temporarily regained consciousness.

"Dracon…stopppp…for the sake of my child…" Elisa managed to say.  
Dracon became infuriated. He took hold of her throat in his hand and lifted her up from the bed.

"You bitch! That's **_MY_** child!" Dracon turned his diamond ring around again and slapped her harder than ever before on one cheek, causing her to spit out a bit of blood as his hand made contact, as well as a long cut to form on her already bruised and battered face. Tears escaped her eyes from the pain the new cut caused her.

"…and I own you, so I can do whatever I want to you, whenever I want to do it. If I want to fuck you right now, I will!" Dracon shouted, throwing Elisa back onto the bed like a rag doll.

Elisa knew what was about to happen, but she lacked the physical strength to prevent it. She did, however, possess enough mental strength to stall him until someone could come and save her from being raped.

"…r-r-real smooth raping a w-w-woman who can't fight back…you are nothing more than a coward." She said, spitting the blood that was pooling in her mouth from the slap onto his suit.

He looked down at her and laughed a mocking sort of laugh.

"I'm not a coward. I just know what I want. And right now I want to teach you another lesson. Your husband will be the last man who you ever sleep with or fantasize about. I'm going to show you right now…"

He began undressing himself, beginning with his jacket, dress shirt and was about to undo his belt when Elisa realised that her words didn't delay him as much as she would have liked, so she changed the tactic.

"H-h-how do you know that I w-w-won't go and seduce one of yooour lackeys laterrr on down the road? That Glasses guy…is pretty s-s-s-sexy." Elisa said, slurring her words because of the tranquilizer.

Dracon stopped unbuckling his pants, cocked his head, frowned and grabbed her throat again. The pressure on her larynx caused her breathing to become laboured. Her hands went to her throat to help ease the pressure caused by Dracon's hands, but did nothing. His face contorted with fury.

"I knew you were a whore. I should just kill you right now. I have a pretty good fortune from my Uncle Joe's will. I really don't need you anymore…Plus, there's nothing in the will that said I couldn't kill my wife after the wedding…"

He squeezed tighter upon her neck. She nearly stopped breathing when he finally thought against killing her.

"No, I might decide to kill you after I'm done having my fun…we'll see."

He let her down and went back to unbuckling his belt. She gasped for air again as he released his hold on her neck. There were now distinct handprints on her neck from his latest attempt on her life. These would definitely turn black and blue in the coming hours.

The belt finally slid off, and was thrown on the floor. Elisa had been allowing the tears to fall while he was preparing to take off his pants. She didn't have any strength left in her to fight him, because of the tranquilizer as well as the choking episode just moments earlier. She was still trying to get her breath back. Her eyes closed slowly until she was almost completely under the influence of the tranquilizer. Her sense of hearing was still intact, but she could not act upon it.

"Wifey, get ready for the best sex of your life!" Dracon exclaimed.

He got onto the bed, and mounted her, with his pants still on. He licked his lips and reached down to unzip his pants. He was about take off his pants when there was a loud banging coming from the door. He turned just in time to see Goliath, with his eyes burning red with wrath, charging towards him as the door was thrown against the wall. Goliath grabbed Dracon by the throat and threw him off of Elisa's still and now unconscious body. Dracon hit the wall with a loud CRACK, and landed on the floor struggling to get up. He had sustained no serious injuries…yet.

Goliath glanced at Elisa, worried that she was unconscious, even after the loud crack that Dracon made against the wall. He pulled Dracon up off of the floor and went through the window, holding Dracon by the neck. Dracon struggled against Goliath with no success. Goliath's massive stature was enough to pacify Dracon.

Goliath walked, holding Dracon in this manner until he looked up and saw Angela, Broadway, Lexington, Brooklyn and Hudson gliding through the night sky. Angela noticed her father and signalled for the others to glide down to join him below. Once on the ground, they all began speaking at once, silenced only by Goliath's simple words and burning eyes.

"Elisa is in this room." He pointed behind him. "Attend to her. I will deal with this animal." Nodding, the gargoyles ran to the window to the room where Elisa was lying on the bed and did as Goliath had instructed.

Goliath was otherwise occupied.

Goliath found higher ground, caught a current of wind, and glided through the air, still holding a struggling and panicking Dracon by the neck.

"Don't drop me!" Dracon said, as they soared high above Sao Miguel.

"Shut up!" Goliath shouted. "It will not be _that_ easy for you."

After flying for a few minutes, getting higher and higher above Sao Miguel, Goliath looked at his prey with burning eyes and considered dropping him over the ocean or a lake perhaps. _No_, he thought, _that would be too merciful for what he was going to do to Elisa, and what he **has** done to her_. He continued flying with Dracon terror stricken until he reached a look-out point for tourists to see the Sete Cidades, a grouping of 7 cities that can all be seen at the same time from this one point on a coastal part of Sao Miguel. He landed on the vista, and dropped Dracon hard on the ground before him. Looking at Dracon like a burglar he had just caught stealing his most prized possession, he draped his wings about his mighty shoulders before speaking.

"You are going to pay for what you have done. Your crimes against Elisa won't go unpunished, Dracon."

Dracon, who already had a bloody nose simply from the altitude Goliath had taken him up to, laughed, as he realised that Goliath could have killed him already, but did not because of his ethics, which were a foreign concept to Dracon.

"Oh yeah, freak? What are you going to do? You are all merciful and noble. You won't kill me!" Dracon said confidently, laughing between his sentences. He wiped the blood falling freely from his nose with his hand.

Goliath grabbed his throat again, brought Dracon's face within inches of his own, and whispered, "I will not be reduced to your level. You are a criminal, a kidnapper, and you were almost a rapist tonight. If I even hear that you are in Manhattan again, my mercy will wane and all that will be left of you will be an unrecognisable body." Goliath dropped him once again. He began walking away from Dracon. He unfurled his wings, preparing to glide off, when he heard the sounds of running behind him. Dracon pulled out a knife that he had hidden away in his pants' pocket and was now rushing towards Goliath, brandishing the knife and yelling, _**"DIE YOU FREAK!"**_ Goliath allowed him to come closer, and, using his forward momentum, catapulted his body over the edge of the vista in self-defence. Below, Dracon's fall was broken by a pointy-edged gate stopping tourists from climbing over the lower level of the vista. Dracon was impaled on the gate. Shocked, Goliath leapt to the lower level to inspect the damage. Dracon was in a state of shock as well at seeing a long metal rod that was part of a fence sticking out of his stomach. He touched his hand to the rod, and his hand became covered with blood. He noticed Goliath standing there, and said, "She will always be mine, even after I…die…ugh…wow, right through my stomach, huh? Ugh…how ironic…" With those final words, he died.

Goliath still hadn't dealt with the fact that he had killed Dracon, instead of showing him the mercy he thought he would by the time he had flown back to the compound with Dracon's body. He landed, noticing how silent the premises were. He laid Dracon's body on the bed where Elisa had lain. He looked around briefly for any sign of his clan. He then heard a plane high above. Since the evening had been so quiet, except for the sounds of battle, this seemed odd. He glanced upwards to see the Xanatos jet preparing to land a ways off on the Dracon grounds, since there was ample clear land. Goliath walked over to the plane as it touched down for the last time in Sao Miguel. The door swung open and Xanatos came to stand in the door way.

"Is Dracon…?"

"Yes, he is dead. He was impaled on a fence. I brought his body to this house so that his associates may do with him as they wish. How is Elisat?"

"She is still unconscious, no doubt from that tranquilizer dart we found in the room, but she will be alright I suspect."

Goliath sighed in a breath of fresh Portuguese air for the last time.

"Then let us go home."


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer:  
I do not own Gargoyles, or any of the characters which appeared in the cartoon. All original characters seen here were created by me, but everyone else is not. This writing is for pleasure, not for profit...Please don't sue._

_**The Nightmares Saga The Final Chapter (8): "Certainties"**_

Goliath stepped into the jet and was greeted by the relieved faces of his clan and Fox and David Xanatos. Goliath looked over the faces until he saw, at the back of the interior of the jet, a curtained-off section of the plane. He suspected she was behind the velvety blue curtain, since she was not found among the rest of his clan.

"I want to see Elisa." He said to Xanatos, motioning to the curtain. "I know she is still unconscious, but I want to ensure she is alright."

Wordlessly, Xanatos walked over to the curtain and pulled it back. Goliath walked beyond the curtain and he saw her lying on a small bed that was a part of the left side of the plane. Goliath saw that, while he was occupied with Dracon, the others had taken the time to tidy her up somewhat; her hair was less dishevelled and her cuts on her face were cleaned and had stopped bleeding as they were before. An antiseptic smell hung in the air. There were black and blue handprints forming on her neck. She was covered with a grey blanket and was no longer wearing the nightgown she was wearing when they were reunited; she now wore what looked like a white tank top, most likely donated by Fox. She looked peaceful to Goliath as she lay there in front of him. He reached down and touched her face, still somehow radiant with beauty and strength, though it was covered with cuts and bruises. He crouched down to her level, and held her left hand, which was still burdened with the thick golden wedding band that had been forced onto her slender ring finger. If he had stayed a minute longer, he would not have been able to stop himself from crying at the sight of his human love, as her appearance was proof of how he could not have protected her from this. He silently walked out of the small curtained-off room and took his seat as the plane was preparing to take off.

Of the 7 gargoyles on board, 6 were hurt in one way or another, though the injuries were nothing a little stone sleep couldn't cure. These injuries varied from bruised or sore arms and legs, to a bullet wound sustained by Brooklyn on his wingspan while he was battling with Glasses. He ended up throwing Glasses into the lake. As he glided away from him, he saw Glasses struggling in the water, but decided to let him swim back to shore all by himself. Lexington had a bump on his olive-coloured head, but all he had was a headache and nothing more, thanks to Broadway sneaking up on Lexington's attacker just in time. Angela almost received a concussion but she managed at the last minute to swerve away from the butt of a shotgun, and instead, was able to render her attacker unconscious long enough to escape to the plane that awaited her and the others. Bronx and Hudson each had a few scrapes, but were otherwise well. Broadway had an uncomfortable injury to his wing likened to that which Brooklyn had received, but his injury was sustained right before the plane landed to take them away, so it didn't hinder their success against Dracon's goons. All in all, the clan had had a successful fight against Elisa's captors, and when they saw that Goliath came back from his confrontation with Dracon, they knew that he had as well been successful.

Goliath was uninjured, but held a different kind of pain within him: he had killed a man who should have been sent to prison for the rest of his miserable life, or at the very least, would have never set foot in Manhattan again. He robbed Elisa of the only kind of revenge she would have been willing to dish out. The justice system was Elisa's livelihood as well as her trusted ally, but it would not extend its' reach to her captor this night. Goliath had killed Dracon, and with him went any sort of payback Elisa could have had. Goliath felt nearly ashamed for killing Dracon as he did.

As the plane took off from the Dracon compound, the gargoyles remained in their seats, quiet and thoughtful. Once the plane regained its steadiness and began flying straight through the sky, everyone minus Fox huddled around Goliath to ask how he was, as his face displayed a melancholic sentiment.

"Goliath, are you alright?" David Xanatos asked as he walked towards him.

Goliath nodded slightly.

"I am fine, though I know that I will forever regret having killed Dracon in anger." He closed his eyes, shutting out the worried faces surrounding him.

"Father, what do you mean?" Angela asked, worriedly.

"Lad, you have ne'er killed in cold blood. I canna believe you would start now."

Hudson confirmed. Goliath shook his head.

"I was going to spare his life—leave him alone on a dark and lonely vista and glide off—but he charged at me with a knife and—"

"That was an act of self-defence, then, Goliath. You had no choice!" Brooklyn interrupted.

"He's right. By law, self-defence is the right to protect yourself against violence or threatened violence with whatever force or means are reasonably necessary."Broadway quoted nearly word for word from a law book he had read.

"Yes, but I would have been able to defend myself from his attack, knife or no knife. My thoughts immediately went to killing him. I did not block him or attempt to dislodge the knife from his hand." Goliath looked to the floor of the plane. Angela put a comforting hand on his noble shoulder.

"Father, we all know that you did what you had to do. And besides, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we all would have done the same, if given the same set of circumstances."

Her words caused a series of nods to come from the clan.

"…and we can't forget that he was the one who kidnapped Elisa and kept her there for a month…" Lexington added cautiously. They all looked at Goliath, awaiting a look of reproach to be shot at Lexington, but instead, Goliath got up and turned towards where Elisa was lying behind the curtain.

"Yes, you are right. She nearly died at his hands, and was forced to become his wife. The wedding band still sits on her finger." Goliath's fists balled at his sides, though he remained calm. "He deserved much more pain than what he received at my hands. I robbed Elisa of her vengeance."

"Goliath, she will be relieved at the very least that he is gone. I have no doubt of that." Xanatos replied. "But there is no reason for you to beat yourself up over this. It's been a long night for all of us. Let's just relax, watch a few movies, and wait until Fox gets us home." Xanatos motioned to the two televisions overhead. Goliath bowed his head in resignation.

At around 3am Portugal time, which was half-way through their flight home, the gargoyles became slightly restless. After watching the in-flight movie, Angela and Broadway were napping, with their heads together. Hudson, Bronx and Lexington were also napping after their battle, but Brooklyn was wide awake, looking out the cabin window. Goliath had rested his eyes for a short while, in a very light sleep, when he sensed that someone was moving about the plane. He peeked through partially shut eyelids and saw a red figure walking slowly towards the blue curtain dividing Elisa from the rest of the passengers onboard. Brooklyn seemed hesitant to go beyond the curtain, however. He seemed nervous and fidgety. Seeing this, Goliath rose from his seat and walked toward the curtain to meet Brooklyn.

"It is alright, Brooklyn. Why do you look nervous to see her?" Goliath asked.

"I am a little. I just didn't see her when they brought her on the plane, and to be honest, I am scared of how she will look." Brooklyn said. "Fox and Angela were the ones who cleaned her wounds and changed her clothing and they said they were worried for her. And the others were the ones who helped get her here, but I didn't want to see her. I was told that she looked terrible. Dracon really beat her up."

Goliath exhaled deeply, nodding.

"Despite that, she is still our Elisa. Superficial wounds will heal. I will go in with you, if you wish." Goliath offered. Brooklyn looked relieved when he mentioned this.

"Please."

Elisa was lying in the same exact position Goliath had left her in; she had not changed or shifted in her drug-induced slumber. Brooklyn stepped closer towards her and kneeled down beside the bed, shaking his head as the injuries most apparent on her face and throat screamed out at him instantly.

"If you hadn't killed him, Goliath, I probably would have." Brooklyn said through clenched teeth, as he surveyed her face. He motioned to her face. "These are more than just a few days worth of bruises and cuts here. The sick bastard."

Goliath nodded solemnly.

"She was a plaything in his hands. I saw the way he spoke to her while I was in a room filled with televisions. He spoke with arrogance with her, as if he held something over her."

Goliath's mind raced back to the events that led them all to this moment, and he felt as if he wanted to throw something, but restrained himself for Elisa's sake.

"Let's allow Elisa to get some much deserved rest. We'll discuss this out of her earshot." Goliath suggested. They walked away from Elisa's still body and let the curtain fall, dividing her peaceful sleep from their conversation.

On their way back to their seats, Xanatos greeted them.

"I was thinking of a way to bring Elisa back to the castle without drawing too much attention to yourselves. Would you like to hear it?" Xanatos said, to everyone who was paying attention or was awake.

Goliath nodded.

Xanatos relayed his plan of calling the NYPD when they were closer to New York City, and explaining to them that Elisa's communicator, which Xanatos had given her a few months prior to her kidnapping, had suddenly come back online, and Xanatos and Fox had decided to investigate for themselves. Once in Portugal, they found Elisa, and everyone was already dead or injured when they got there. Of course they would be asked questions, but Elisa would confirm that story days afterwards, when she would be feeling up to it (though that just meant that the clan had time to tell her how the events were told to the police to have her side of things match up.). The clan agreed that it was the best option.

"But the only way that is going to work is if we drop you all off somewhere else in the city before we get back to the castle. That way, if reporters get wind that we are bringing the Detective back after she was thought to be dead and decide to meet us there, you will be no where in sight."

Hudson raised his hand in opposition.

"I think that we should call her parents and Talon before landin' then. We dunna want her family to find out Elisa is alright on the morning news."

They all agreed.

It was nearly 1am in New York City when the private jet arrived back at the Eyrie building. Xanatos had dropped the gargoyles off a few miles from the Eyrie building before returning home. As Xanatos had suspected, there were reporters and news cameras there, and Owen Burnett attempting to hold them off. Minutes after the plane landed on the rooftop of the Eyrie building, Fox and David carried a stretcher out of the plane, carrying Elisa on it. The reporters and camera crews surrounded them quickly and began taking snapshots and videos of the miraculous rescue mission that resulted in bringing home someone the police feared was dead. Xanatos ordered Owen to dispatch the cameras, and let Elisa rest. Owen let the reporters know that once Elisa was well, they would let them know.

Within minutes, there were breaking news reports on all the local channels, and even CNN had a decent segment on her homecoming, since her return was so miraculous. Pictures and video of the homecoming were splashed across television screens throughout the state of New York.

Xanatos had made arrangements earlier that evening to have a medical ward room fixed for Elisa's stay, and had doctors awaiting their return. Upon bringing Elisa to the medical ward, the doctors quickly got to work inspecting her, and running tests to be certain that she wasn't injured in ways that were not visible to the naked eye. They ran blood tests and did x-rays, and with Xanatos' high budget, the tests would yield results in about an hour afterwards.

About a half hour after the chaos of the reporters and cameras, the gargoyles returned to their home and awaited clearance from Xanatos to see her.

It was nearly 4am when the doctors had finished their tests and had all but one been sent home. Xanatos informed the gargoyles that one may see her at a time. They all knew who the first one would be to see her.

Goliath walked slowly into the room, careful not to make too much noise. She was still sedated, but only lightly. She was almost in a normal sleep cycle. He pulled a chair from the corner of the room towards the side of the bed and sat down. He reached over and held her limp hand. He lowered his brow to her hand. He felt all the emotions that had been bottled up within him for over a month spilling out like a dam uncontrollable. Though she could not hear him, or so he thought, he had to word his feelings for her.

"Elisa, I have been so afraid to tell you how I truly felt about you for far too long, and when I thought you were gone forever, I was not able to forgive myself. I was a coward for not acting upon my feelings for you because of our differences, but I no longer care what anyone will say. This month without you was torture for the entire clan, but I was nothing without you."

As these words escaped his lips, Elisa stirred from her sleep, and her eyes opened to see the face of the one she loved as he poured his heart out to her, still ignorant of her consciousness.

_Should I let him continue this, or should I stop him_ , Elisa thought. _Nah, let me hear this a few seconds longer at least. I want to hear all that's in his heart without his damned shyness…_

"I should have told you before…but how do I tell you that I love you more than any other being has loved another? How do I tell you that our friendship has blossomed into a love that completes me and makes me whole?"

_Wow_ Elisa thought. _I better stop him now. I want to add to that…_

He felt a tug at his hand. He looked up from her hand to see Elisa's stunning eyes looking back at him.

"Just tell me…"She said in a sleepy but playful voice. Her tone had instantly lightened the mood in the room. He wanted to hug her eternally, but instead, settled for planting endless kisses upon the hand that rested within his own.

"Elisa…" He said between kisses.

"God, I missed you." Elisa said with a slightly stronger and clearer voice. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. Goliath's eyes, too, became misty. Elisa tried to sit up in the bed, but was too shaky to gain her balance. Goliath put a tender hand on her shoulder, easing her back down to the pillow.

"Don't try to get up, please. You need to relax."

"I still can't believe you found me…how?" Elisa asked, her voice now drained of its grogginess, but now hinted with emotion.

"Your communicator came back online and we tracked it to Portugal…but that is not important right now. I do not wish to burden you with these minor details. I wanted to tell you—"

Elisa interrupted his words with a few of her own.

"Goliath, before another word is spoken, I need to tell you how much I...I love you." She nearly hesitated in her words, but once they were said, her heart was unburdened and she felt the greatest relief. Goliath's eyes were alive with happiness at these words. He squeezed her hand, which he still held onto.

"I have been afraid of my feelings for you, but I realised through this ordeal that every second counts, and if I hadn't lived through this, you would have never known how much I really loved you, so I can't be afraid anymore. I need you, and I love you." Elisa paused. "And I heard what you were saying just now." She smiled, almost bashful that she had been in a sense eavesdropping on his private conversation. "But if you care to repeat those words, please feel free." Elisa looked down at Goliath's hands holding her own, and stroked his hand. She then looked into his eyes, awaiting his reply to her confession of love. Goliath smiled, then looked deeply into Elisa's rich brown eyes and began.

"I will more than repeat my words, Elisa. We have known each other for nearly three years, and I would be lying to myself if I said that I didn't love you for two of those years. At first, I admired your strength and loyalty, but over our time as the best of friends, I realised that my affection for you was deeper than friendship. I, too, have been plagued with the fear of what the clan would say, but now that I know you are safe, damn what the others will say. Elisa…without you, I was empty. My Elisa, I love you."

He bent down, and touched her bee-stung lips with his for the first time since the clan's return to the castle, more than a month ago. Elisa sighed at the kiss, because it was the sweetest and gentlest of kisses—it was the kind of kiss that would make a person tingle from their fingertips to their toes. Slowly, as their mouths touched, Elisa's hands linked around Goliath's neck and she leaned towards him to experience the full feeling of his mouth pressed to hers. The kiss made Goliath's misty eyes release a few tears. Finally, after years of repressing his feelings and believing that he would never love again, here he was, kissing Elisa with the certainty of emotion that he thought had long since died. He had found love with his most loyal and true human friend. Even as their lips met and rejoined, Goliath thanked fate for this moment, despite how it came about.

After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door. The two pairs of lips separated from one another, as did the intertwined hands.

"Detective Maza, this is Dr. Alban. May I come in for a moment? Uh…I know that Goliath is in there as well. It is alright…Mr. Xanatos informed me of…"

Elisa shot Goliath a puzzled look. Goliath returned the puzzled look, but nodded.

"Come in, doctor." Elisa called.

The door opened, and revealed a man in his mid-fifties with thinning white hair and moustache. He had thick-framed bifocal glasses on his narrow nose and wore a long, white lab coat. He also carried a clip board. Elisa shuddered at this allusion to the last doctor she had been in contact with—that doctor in Portugal that had helped Dracon impregnate her had looked similar to this doctor, and carried a clip board such as this one. Frankly, just the fact that he was a doctor wearing a white lab coat and a clipboard made Elisa nervous.

Dr. Alban walked into the room and extended his free hand to Elisa and then to Goliath to shake their hands.

"Amazing. I have heard of your kind, but was never privileged enough to have met any of you. Fascinating…" He said, staring at Goliath in awe. He trailed off, seemingly lost in thought. As if he had just remembered where his train of thought had last taken him, his head snapped towards Elisa again.

"Detective, we have conducted some tests to ensure everything is alright with you after your tribulations. We will not have the results for an hour or so, but I felt compelled to tell you that everything seems normal so far. You are lucky that you didn't sustain any permanent damage as a result of your kidnapping."

Elisa scoffed internally. _If you only knew_ Elisa thought._ I'd say a child is pretty permanent…_

"And I must say that you are quite lucky to be so close with Mr. Xanatos. He has spared no expense to care for you. And I think I overheard him discussing plans to get you another apartment just now. He was talking with that uptight gentleman who never smiles…odd fellow…" Dr. Alban again became entrenched in his thoughts. Elisa was shocked by this latest bit of news, but decided that her outrage at Xanatos for attempting to relocate her would have to wait for a better time.

"Thank you for the update, doctor, but do you know when I can get out of here?"

Elisa asked with the strength in her voice fully restored by this time.

"Dear, I won't know that for sure until all the tests are in. Again, that will be at the very least, an hour from now. I will be sure to tell you once all the results are in. Now, I'm sure you want to rest. I will take my leave of you both. It was an honour meeting you, Goliath." He nodded at Goliath and left, closing the door behind him. Elisa reached for Goliath's hand again, but yawned at the same time, so she instead covered her opening mouth.

"Man, he really did a number on me, huh?" Elisa said, referring to Dracon using the tranquilizer dart on her that still had some effect on her, even now. Goliath understood the reference and bowed his head.

"I am sorry that I was unable to protect you from him, or find you sooner."

"It isn't your fault at all, Goliath. Can't you see? You had no idea that this would happen, or that I would be taken to Europe. I'm just thankful that the communicator came online when it did. Otherwise…" Elisa's look became contemplative, and her eyes focused on a distant spot on the ceiling of the room. Goliath would have none of that talk.

"Do not talk in this manner, Elisa. We are together, and you are home. The 'what ifs' are unimportant now. The important thing is that you get some rest." He looked to the side, to see the sun was menacing to rise over the horizon, ending their visit. "I will see you tonight…my love." He smiled as these words left his mouth. She, too, smiled at these words.

"Ok, if you put it that way, Big Guy. I love you. See you tonight." Goliath leaned over and kissed her forehead one last time before leaving her to get some rest.

Goliath exited the room, quietly closing the door behind him, when he saw Dr. Alban standing a few feet away, holding a piece of paper. He looked somewhat troubled. He withdrew his thick glasses from his nose and looked up at Goliath. He seemed as if he had been waiting for Goliath.

"Is there something wrong, doctor?" Goliath asked, hoping those weren't Elisa's test results he was scowling at. The doctor re-read a few lines of the paper in his hand and shook his head.

"Uh…how long was the Detective taken for?" Dr. Alban asked.

"A few days over a month. Why? Is there something the matter?" Goliath asked in a grave tone.

"What? Oh, nothing, Goliath. I have to make an important phone call. Good evening." He turned in the opposite direction and began walking away from Goliath. Dr. Alban then said something to himself, intending Goliath not to hear him, but because of gargoyle heightened hearing, Goliath heard every word.

_"She wasn't raped, so how can she be pregnant?"_

Goliath stood in place for a few seconds, as if trying to confirm that he had actually heard that. Was it possible? Could Elisa really be pregnant? And with whose child?

"No…" Goliath said quietly to himself. He then remembered how early in the morning it was, and he needed to take his place with the clan on the parapets above the building. He walked towards the elevator, still contemplating this latest bit of news over in his head.

As he turned to stone that day, his thoughts were of Elisa's unborn child.

During the day, Elisa was greeted by Dr. Alban again.

"Detective, I have the results back from your tests. They have been in for a while now, but I didn't have the heart to wake you up just to tell you everything is alright, however…"

A shadow of doubt crept over his face, and Elisa knew what he was going to tell her. Instead of letting him continue, she decided that it was best he knew that she knew of her own pregnancy.

"Doctor, I know what you are about to discuss. Dracon wanted me to know that I was pregnant."

"But we examined you. You weren't raped…unless…" He trailed off again.

"We did not have sex, consensual or non, doctor. He had his doctor inject me with something. I have been having morning sickness for a few days now. I can't keep any food down for more than a few hours. I'm actually surprised I haven't yet thrown up since being home."

The doctor shrugged.

"Consider it a blessing and a curse, my dear. The tranquilizer he pumped you with must have calmed your stomach. But the question now is what you want to do with this fetus now that Dracon is dead and gone…"

Elisa looked up at the doctor decisively.  
"I am keeping my child. He or she is a part of me now. End of discussion." She said, instinctively placing a hand on her still flat stomach as a protective gesture, though she was in no danger from this doctor. Understanding that it was indeed the end of the discussion, he turned slightly towards the door to leave.  
"Of course, Detective. As you wish." He was about to leave when Elisa was reminded of one last thing to tell him before he left.

"Doctor, please don't tell anyone of my pregnancy. I will tell them in due time"  
Dr. Alban nodded and exited the room.

The rest of the day, Elisa fell in and out of restless sleep, and never alone for more than an hour.

One of the hours she was left alone was used for contemplating the use of the enforced wedding band still upon her left ring finger. After many different options, she decided that, for now, it would fit upon her right ring finger. Later on, she would sell it, since it was definitely 14 karat gold or higher.

She was visited by Matt, her parents, and Maria Chavez. Though their visits were very much welcomed, she did feel well enough to entertain them and wished them to leave as soon as they entered her room and sat down. Her morning sickness was beginning again, and knowing that she did not want to tell them she was pregnant just yet, she didn't want to have them suspecting by seeing her sick to her stomach. She was still terrified at what they would say of her and her decision to keep this child and raise him or her as a Maza.

Night fell over Manhattan again, bringing to life the stone protectors of the weak, helpless and fallen.

Goliath awoke to the sounds of his clan talking excitedly amongst themselves. He greeted them with a smile that they had not seen in many weeks, and walked into the castle towards the elevator, intent on asking Elisa about what he had heard Dr. Alban saying the night before.

He knocked on Elisa's private room's door. When she did not answer, he opened it slowly, peeking within and seeing that Elisa was asleep. He decided to watch her sleeping for a while until she awoke.

Taking his seat beside her, he got comfortable in his chair and studied her face like a map to his heart, memorizing every curve and minute imperfection he saw. His eyes then travelled lower, to her upper body, her graceful neckline and shoulders, her ample bosom, and then his eyes were brought upon her stomach. He watched as it rose and fell with each breath she inhaled and exhaled, trying to envision it growing round with the shape of a baby within it. What would happen if she really was pregnant? Goliath searched his heart for a few minutes, then realised that any child of Elisa's, whether the father was Tony Dracon or not, would still be her child, and with that title the child would carry the privilege of inheriting some of her best attributes and qualities.

_I would help her care for her child if this is true_, he said aloud. _I would be a father to the child, if she would allow me to be…if this is true,_ he decided quietly to himself.

As he was milling these ideas in his head, his attention was caught by Elisa's head shaking side to side slowly, and her eyelids were shut tightly. Her features were stressed and tortured as she tossed. She was saying something.

_"…my baby will not act like a Dracon…nothing like you…no…nothing like you…"_

_Elisa tossed and turned in her sleep. She was in the middle of a new nightmare. No scenes were shown to her. Only her sense of hearing seemed to be functioning within this dream. She heard familiar voices:_

_**…Sir, let me be the first to congratulate you. You are going to be a father…**_

_then the voice of her father…  
**…what! You are pregnant? You carry that swine's child in your womb? You are a disgrace to our family…you go against all that our family represents…  
**…then she heard a voice that made her stomach turn…_

_**…you fucking bitch…you're lucky that you're pregnant, because otherwise I would have kicked your stomach until you were coughing blood. I'm going to have to teach you a lesson in manners…**_

_**…that's MY child…**_

_**…I own you, so I can do whatever I want to you, whenever I want to do it…**_

_And finally, she heard the repulsive voice say something new from beyond the grave…_

_**…this child is a Dracon through and through…there will be no denying it…every time you look at that child, you will think of me…he or she will be EXACTLY like me…tough luck, Wifey…**_

_…she shook her head, trying to erase the sounds from her memory, still half in the sleep world. _

"No, shut up…my baby will be nothing like you…my baby will not act like a Dracon…nothing like you…no…nothing like you…" Elisa cried in her sleep. Goliath grew worried and reached for her hand, coaxing her gently to wake up. As he did this, he realised her words were confirmation that she was pregnant…but why hadn't she told him about it last night?

"Elisa, my love, wake up. You are having a nightmare." He said. He shook her mildly until her rant stopped, and her eyelids fluttered open. Once awake, she glanced at Goliath, and thought to what she had just experienced.

"God…what was I saying in my sleep?" She asked honestly.

"You said that your baby would be nothing like Dracon…what does this mean, Elisa?" He asked, allowing her some leeway to explain her reasons behind keeping her pregnancy a secret from him. She instantly blushed and turned her eyes away from his gaze in shame. He understood, and used a talon to turn her face towards him again. "Please tell me, Elisa. Whatever you tell me, I will still love you." She pondered his words for a quick second, and then began.

"I…I am pregnant, Goliath. Dracon kept me alive long enough to impregnate me. But not by ordinary means; he had a doctor inject me with something, and then I felt very sick to my stomach. They told me I was pregnant the day before you came for me, and I have felt sick all day today. I didn't know how you would react. I'm sorry I kept this from you but—"

"Elisa, how do you feel about this child?"

"I have decided to keep this baby. I know he or she is a product of hate, but I feel connected with this child already. I already love this child." She searched his eyes for any sign of his feelings. His hand went to her stomach.

"Then I, too, will love this child."

Elisa felt great relief at his words. Her worst fear was just put to rest, and she could feel at ease at least with him.

Her hand went to his face, and caressed it lovingly.

"Thank you, Goliath. I was so afraid that you would reject me and this child."

"Elisa, you went through something terrible, and the torment you endured at Dracon's hands was inconceivable, but perhaps some good can come from this. This child will be a blessing. Your eyes told me how happy you are, despite the fact that Dracon is this child's father."

Elisa's hand went from his face to his hand that rested upon her stomach under the covers of the bed.

"But this child will never know that. I won't allow this child to know his or her father is a criminal."

_Meanwhile, in Lisbon, Portugal…_

A tall, thin man sat at a mahogany desk, turned towards a television to the side of the desk, and had a cell phone to his ear, listening attentively. On the screen were images of the homecoming of a certain NYPD detective high atop the Eyrie building. He was extremely interested in these.

"Yes, I am watching CNN right now…Yes, I see that she is fine. But she was successfully impregnated, wasn't she? Ah. That's a Dracon she carries. The child must be carried to term. Once she delivers, I will give you the word to strike. Do nothing until I give the word. Understand, Glasses?"

The man pressed END on the phone, and turned back to the computer on his desk. He began typing furiously.

E l i s a M a z a D r a c o n is e x p e c t e d to d e l i v e r t h e n e x t D r a c o n h e i r in 7 ½ m o n t h s.

W h e n t h e c h i l d is b o r n , t h e mo t h e r w i l l b e d i s p o s e d of , a n d t h e c h i l d

w i l l re t u r n to P o r t u g a l to be r a i s e d a t r u e D r a c o n by me ,

h i s g r a n d f a t h e r …

END


End file.
